Virginia Bennett

Virginia Bennett is a Western writer and cowboy poet whose work grew out of years spent working on ranches in the American West. Sources describe her as having worked on ranches in several western states, and PBS says she worked on western ranches from 1971 alongside her husband, Pete, while also training horses, showing hunter-jumpers, driving draft teams, and earning cowboy wages.

Her writing is closely tied to that lived experience. She has written books including In the Company of Horses, Legacy of the Land, and Canyon of the Forgotten, and she edited the anthologies Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin' and Cowboy Poetry: The Reunion.

She has also been a regular presence in cowboy poetry circles. A profile cited by Your Daily Poem notes that she has performed original cowboy poetry since 1988, appeared at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, and had work featured by outlets including PBS and NPR. Another profile says she lives in Goldendale, Washington, with her husband and several horses.