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This Day…

Posted on May 16, 2026 by Chris Enss

1875 – First Kentucky Derby: The inaugural “Run for the Roses” was held at Churchill Downs, won by Aristides with jockey Oliver Lewis.

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Chris Enss is a New York Times Bestselling Author who writes books about the Old West. Enter the giveaway for a chance to win.

Forty Years, and Knowing When to Leave In Februar

Forty Years, and Knowing When to Leave

In February, after more than forty years of teaching Bible study, I stepped aside.

No one asked me to go. There was no meeting, no formal conclusion, no ceremony to mark the end of something that had quietly shaped most of my adult life. There was simply a moment when it became clear that the room had changed in ways I could no longer ignore.

An eleven-year-old came into church one morning carrying a switchblade. He waved it casually in front of the other children, as if it were nothing more than a toy. His grandparents were present. They saw it. They said nothing.

The lesson that day was not from scripture.

In forty years, I had seen restlessness, distraction, even defiance. Children test boundaries - that is part of growing up. But boundaries require adults willing to hold them. When that willingness disappears, the responsibility does not vanish. It simply shifts, often onto the person least able to carry it alone.
I understood, in that moment, something I had likely known for some time: maintaining comfort had become more important than maintaining standards. Difficult conversations are avoided. Behavior is explained away. And those who show up alone, without family ties or built-in standing, are easier to overlook when decisions, spoken or unspoken, are made.
So I made one of my own.
I stepped aside not because the work no longer mattered, but because the conditions for doing it responsibly had changed. There are limits to what one person can manage, and even more to what one person should be expected to accept.
The photo I’m sharing was taken during an Easter play I had the great pleasure putting together years ago with children I will always hold dear to my heart. It was one of the many moments when the time felt full of purpose, energy, and joy, the kind that made all the preparation worthwhile.
Forty years is long enough to recognize when presence is no longer enough.
What mattered was never perfection. It was consistency, attention, and the quiet understanding that the space was meant to be safe for everyone in it, including the person teaching.
That is still what I believe. And it is why I chose to leave.

The posse is riding again. Thunder Over the Prair

The posse is riding again.

Thunder Over the Prairie has been optioned as a 4-part limited series—written and directed by Emmy winner Walter Hill—and already being called “a cinematic Western event.”

Before they were legends, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Bill Tilghman, and Charlie Bassett rode out in pursuit of a killer after the murder of saloon singer Dora Hand.

One killing.
One fugitive.
One relentless ride for justice across the frontier.

It’s been a long time coming… but the wait is almost over.

Want the real story? Read Thunder Over the Prairie

Enter to win a copy: www.chrisenss.com
#ThunderOverThePrairie #WesternHistory #WyattEarp #BatMasterson #TrueWest #OldWest #WesternSeries #ComingSoon

It may look like a departure… but in many ways, it

It may look like a departure… but in many ways, it’s a return.

Long before I was writing history books about the women of the American West, I was a stand-up comedian and a comedy writer—drawn to sharp dialogue, impossible situations, and characters who find themselves in over their heads. That spirit never really left. It just took a different form.

Now, it’s coming full circle.

I’m putting the finishing touches on Jessica of the Jungle, a romantic comedy set to debut in 2027.

At the center is a washed-up morning radio host who fakes her way onto a National Geographic expedition in Africa, posing as a photographer she has absolutely no idea how to be. What follows is a full-blown fish-out-of-water disaster—complete with wild animals, professional deception, and a complicated love triangle involving a rugged game warden and a glamorous (and very married) photojournalist.

It’s funny, fast-paced, a little chaotic—and very much about reinvention, identity, and what happens when the life you’re pretending to live starts demanding the truth.

More to come soon.

Coming This October… According to Kate. History

Coming This October… According to Kate.

History remembered the gunfighters. She survived them. Step into Cochise, Arizona, 1899—where legend meets truth, and one of the West’s most unforgettable women finally takes center stage.

According to Kate, based on the award-winning book According to Kate: The Legendary Life of Big Nose Kate, Love of Doc Holliday, captures a powerful and intimate chapter in the life of Kate Elder—a woman too often overshadowed by the men written into history beside her. In this striking new film, Kate reflects on her life with Doc Holliday—their volatile, passionate, and deeply devoted relationship—while revealing the strength it took to endure the world that tried to define her. Featuring an exceptional cast:

Manuela Schneider as the incomparable Kate Elder
Craig Hensley as Doc Holliday
Curt Lambert as Johnny Ringo

Set against the rugged backdrop of Cochise, Arizona, this film brings heart, grit, and authenticity to a story that deserves to be told.

Coming October 2026

Because the West wasn’t just won by gunfighters… It was survived by women like Kate.

#AccordingToKate #BigNoseKate #DocHolliday #WomenOfTheWest #WesternFilm #ComingSoon

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