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63 year old Mesannie Wilkins rode her horse from Maine to California
Creating quite a stir along the way. She appeared in hundreds of newspaper articles across the country, and some of them show her wearing buffalo plaid flannel.
We think she'd definitely approve of HoofPrints' version!
It's heavy brushed flannel, fully lined with smooth, quilted nylon. It has both side and breast pockets, so there's plenty of places to stow your stuff. Long tails cover your fanny, and the oversize cut fits over a turtleneck or sweatshirt - so versatile.

No-fuss care: machine wash and dry; the sample that I wash-tested was virtually indistinguishable from the unwashed inventory; no shrinkage or puckering that can sometimes happen with lined shirts, and nary a sign of pilling.

The red and black plaid is both cheery and traditional; we embroider in house with a super intricate Celtic Horse logo. To order the jacket, click here
Many of the winter time pictures I found of Mesannie show her in warm headwear - similar to the Trapper Hat below right. Of course, Velcro hadn't been invented yet so she likely had to secure her ear flaps with buttons or snaps. Our version is infinitely adjustable; up, or down as shown to keep the drafts off your ears. Outer shell is diamond quilted nylon, fully lined with warm faux sheepskin, also embroidered with Celtic horse. That's here
She'd definitely had loved the Red, Black and White Paisley Silk Wild Rag; the rich pattern and colors coordinate beautifully with the bold buffalo plaid jacket. The scarf is sold here, the Two Tone Engraved Black Star Scarf Slide is here. Matching Pewter Celtic Horse Medallion on adjustable leather cord is here
THE RIDE OF HER LIFE: This new book answers so many questions about our fave equine heroine from Last of the Saddle Tramps
Last of the Saddle Tramps book fans will be delighted with this well-researched story of author Mesannie Wilkins' life, and her cross country horseback adventure in the 1950s.
When Mesannie compiled her memories, notes and diaries into her book chronicling the 7,000 mile journey. She didn't tell it ALL. There was adversity: divorces, an abusive husband with a criminal record. A stint in vaudeville. The "Uncle" Waldo that she lived with until his passing and her subsequent decision to make her cross country ride - was a hired hand, not a relative. She rode a donkey to her job at a shoe store; the whole town called her "Jackass Annie" and not in a fond way...

Thanks to Elizabeth Letts research, we get to learn the rest of the story about this remarkable woman. Seeing the details that were omitted from her own telling of the story (details that were likely deemed unpalatable for 1960's readers) make us appreciate all the more what an extraordinary (and tough!) character that Annie (Mesannie) Wilkins really was.
Every page is filled with detail and trivia, fleshed out only as a best-selling author can. We discover that early on in the trip, there was a run-in with the Humane Society.

We also learn more about what happened after the ride ended in California. Surprisingly, other than archived newspaper articles, almost no physical evidence remains from Annie's journey. She sold postcards along the way, stayed in numerous homes and every chapter describes events where photographs were taken. I've never seen any of these items for sale on ebay, or documented online anywhere. I'm hoping this book of Elizabeth's makes the best-seller list as her others have - maybe some memorabilia from this remarkable adventure will resurface again.
They finally failed but they did NOT fall apart
Stories about Gina and the Tuff Chix Gloves

Tuff Chix Pink Winter Fleece Gloves are one of my favorite products. If you've been following HoofPrints for very long you know that I don't suffer products that fail to perform. I test everything that comes through the door to make sure it is, indeed, exactly as I am representing it.

IronClad's Tuff Chix fleece gloves aren't your average girly pink gloves that you'd pick up at Wal-Mart, wear for a season and then toss because they've fallen apart. These are engineered by a manufacturer known for it's durable men's work gloves. They applied all that experience making attractive, good fitting gloves to these women's gloves.
Shown here are two pair that I have been wearing since 2011. The same two pair that are pictured in the product listing here. One pair is the original sample that I ordered from the manufacturer to try out. The 2nd pair was returned by a customer who wore them for a while and then claimed they didn't keep her hands warm. Now, to clarify: if you live somewhere like North Dakota and are doing chores for hours in -20 degree weather, these are not the gloves for you. But for the rest of us who don't encounter such extremes these really fit the bill. They're soft, flexible, and give you a LOT of dexterity for a winter glove.
I can fasten all the necessary buckles needed to tack up and ride without taking them off. I can wrangle supplement bucket lids, dip and measure rations, coil up a muddy, recalcitrant hose - pretty much anything I need to do in the barn. And more: the sliding door to my barn gets stuck when the ground freezes. Because of the way it's situated, normal digging implements just won't work to clear out the extra dirt and gravel that's accumulated and is heaving up, blocking the way. The best way to do it is with my fingers. I hack at the frozen stuff with a pick to break it up, then rake it all out of the groove with my fingers. I'd say that it's expecting a lot for any gloves, but these have been doing it for 8 years.
Let's look closely at what failed on these 8 year old gloves. There are holes in the thumb and the middle finger. These are the exact spots that get torqued when I am wrestling the hose on and off of the hydrant. And because I have some ridiculous penchant for cross-threading, it's one of the most difficult tasks in my repertoire of barn chores.
What's more remarkable than the areas that failed, however, are the ones that are still holding up. Every single stitch on all of these gloves is exactly as it was when it left the factory.
The fabric is worn threadbare in spots, but it still washes up nice and fluffy; albeit a bit thinner.
The thoughtfully placed wear reinforcements have done their job; some have worn through, but must are still completely intact - the grippy tread has worn smooth in a few places, testament to 8 years of filling hay feeders, handling a manure fork, and petting horse and dog faces.
I know that there exists a special brush designed to clean crud out of velcro. These gloves have never seen such a luxury, the spots on the wrist are clogged with wadded up lint and dog hair, and they still do a fine job sticking tight to keep out drafts. Overall, for the stellar performance that these give, I'd expect them to be priced a lot higher than $24.
There's a summer version of the Tuff Chix Gloves; I wore out a pair of those as well.
These have their own BIG STORY, too. I hated them when I first got the sample. I had it in my stash for quite a while, and I was disappointed that the fingers were a little too long. They were the correct size for me, and I have average hands, so I was concerned that there would be fit problems with my customers. And the material they were made of is so thin - I didn't see how they could possibly hold up to hard use. This surprised me, as the Tuff Chix fleece winter version by the same manufacturer is perfect in every way - fit, durability, design - nothing could be any better. I figured they'd dropped the ball on these and tossed the sample back on the shelf after trying them on.

However, I had a big landscaping project to do that summer, so dug them out and forced myself to wear them - long fingers and all... By the time I finished I was sold. They'd molded to my hands and the finger length problem went away! I was cutting rose bushes and scooping debris out of landscaping rock - these performed perfectly. Now, I love them.

And after I'd worn them to do hot, sweaty work I had a different view of that fabric that I thought seemed flimsy. It's not flimsy, it's breathable. And that is a good thing. The backs are a nice mesh that lets the air through while still protecting your hands, there's a strip of extra padding over the knuckles. Palms are a suede-like synthetic that grips like leather but washes up a lot better. The sides of the fingers are another material - thinner, but still very protective. Very well designed and constructed gloves that beat leather hands down. Order here

My customers tell me these are great for grooming, building fence, baling hay and other farm chores, gardening, and even riding! There's a story about that time I wore Tuff Chix Chore Gloves to stack about 16 cords of firewood here
More Tough Chicks: Tough by Nature - Portraits of Cowgirls and Ranch Women of the American West Coffee Table Book by Lynda Lanker
For close to twenty years, Lynda Lanker has been immersed in a vast and unprecedented artistic undertaking. While, historically, scores of artists have roamed the West, painting and drawing its monumental landscapes, Lanker has traversed that same territory, but her eyes and artistry have been firmly fixed elsewhere—on a seldom-heralded group of individuals who have, in no small way, played a vital role in forging the fabric and soul of the American West.
Her search for ranch women and cowgirls across the western United States has taken her thousands of miles to ranches and homes in thirteen states. What she discovered underscores the timeliness and importance of her creative accomplishment, for these women and their way of life are quickly disappearing. The matriarchs of the West—those women who played the essential roles of hard-working ranchers, mothers, cowgirls, wives, and homemakers—are simply vanishing. Mega-corporations and urban encroachment are replacing their family farms and ranches and, in the process, are changing the face and humanity of the West forever.
Influenced by Andrew Wyeth and Thomas Hart Benton, Lanker uses a variety of media—pencil and charcoal, oil pastel, egg tempera, plate and stone lithography, engraving and drypoint—to capture the spirit of her women. Just as the Farm Security Administration’s photographic chronicles of the Great Depression have fixed that time and its hardships in our collective memory, Lanker’s portraits, accompanied by her interviews with the forty-nine women featured in the book, will forever honor the unsung heroines of the West.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Gina Keesling started HoofPrints in 1986 to provide helpful promotional materials for farrier husband Rob.

Along the way she added a fun selection of horse and dog products geared toward women of a certain age. This newsletter is emailed to subscribers a few times a month. Watch for sales, stories (including wood repurposing instructions) and more.
I have awesome customer service reps available 24/7 to take your order or answer questions at 765-724-7004, or email gina@hoofprints.com