Apple Valley Series by Nancy Covert Smith

Envious of the boys' freedom and uninterested in the domestic arts, despite her mother's coaxing, DeLanna causes an uproar among her elders when she enters a daring contest with a good-looking boy named Andrew Tabor.

Resisting the limitations of her little farm town, DeLanna Robinson, now grown into a beautiful young woman, dreams of adventure, despite her mother's criticisms, and finds a rival in the minister's daughter for the boy she cares for.

Leaving their small Pennsylvania hometown when they realize that the West holds greater promise, DeLanna and Andrew begin the adventure that DeLanna has always dreamed of and come to see a dangerous side to their longed-for freedom.