"The cowboy," says author and folklorist Joyce Gibson Roach (The Cowgirls) at the outset of Sarah Brennan Kolb's documentary, "is our king hero. He's the one who steps in and saves the day." There's no reason, however, that women can't do the same, and Texas filmmaker Kolb profiles three modern-day cowgirls. Mandy Dauses, 37, serves as general manager for a ranch in Kerns, Texas. She grew up in Virginia and knew she wanted to work on a ranch from an early age, even though she didn't grow up in an agricultural family. She loves her job, and works hard, but her boyfriend still expects dinner to be waiting for him every night. She admits that she would probably be happier with a fellow rancher. Though she likes to wear makeup, she comes prepared to get her hands dirty. In the film, she negotiates the sale of livestock, stitches up a cow's wound, and performs gynecological exams.
When Sara LeMoine Knox, 32, was 12, her father, Jack, gave her 160 acres of land in Coleman, Texas. It dates back to her great grandfather's time. He worked as a trail boss in the United States and Canada, and her 70-year-old father would like it to remain in the family for another 100 years at least. Sara divides her time between the ranch and her law practice and worries that she'll eventually have to give up the former. Martha Santos, 24, is a recent college graduate in Laredo, Texas. "Owning a ranch," she says, "would be my dream." Kolb tracks her attempt to find a job in ranch management. Santos, whose Spanish ancestors helped to establish Laredo, doesn't have much luck but vows to keep trying. Compared to the other two, her story gets short shrift, possibly because her life doesn't prove to be as eventful.
By the end, Mandy has made the biggest impact, because she goes through significant life changes, not all of them good, but it's clear that she's a survivor--and a born cowgirl. As she states after a series of losses, "God gave me this heart, and that's a good thing. I was made this way, and I'm not too much. You know? Like sometimes I wonder if I share too much or give too much." If anything, Kolb could have focused on her exclusively, and that would've been enough. Recommended. Aud: C, P