Michelle Obama, Ann Romney Go Solo On Campaign Trail

June 6, 2012 -- While their husbands were filling their war chests in Western states, Michelle Obama and Ann Romney demonstrated their own campaigning prowess on Wednesday, making some of their first solo appearances at campaign events on the other side of the country.

While touring the stables at a therapeutic horseback riding club in Ocala, Fla., Romney was fired up about Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's win in the state's recall election Tuesday.

"Pretty exciting!" she said, flashing a double thumbs-up when ABC asked about the results.

And right on the heels of the Democratic defeat in Wisconsin, which centered on labor issues, the First Lady assured a crowd of about 1,100 supporters that President Obama would "stand up for American workers."

"The thing I want you all to remember, is that when it comes time to stand up for American workers and American families, you know what my husband is going to do," an impassioned Obama said during a campaign rally at Philadelphia's Constitution Center on Wednesday. "When we need a leader to make the hard decisions to keep this country moving forward, you know you can count on my husband, your president."

The Pennsylvania rally was the third and largest solo campaign event Mrs. Obama has hosted so far.

On Tuesday, Mrs. Romney met with Hispanic Republicans at a Cuban restaurant in Miami and on Thursday will tour the breast cancer unit of the Woodlands Center for Specialized Medicine in Pensacola.

Romney put politics aside on Wednesday, focusing instead on her favorite animal, horses, at the Marion Therapeutic Riding Association. She credits horseback riding with easing the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, which she has battled for more than a decade, and often sneaks away from the campaign trail to ride.

Earlier in the day, during a "Women for Obama" fundraiser at the swanky Hotel Pierre in New York City, the First Lady sought to appeal to women voters, a constituency whose support for Obama has slipped over the past month.

Obama touted her husband's health care law, which ensures that "things like contraception" are covered by insurance companies, telling the mostly-female crowd, "Ladies, we cannot turn back."

"My husband knows that women need access to the full range of health services," Obama said to the crowd of nearly 500 supporters, each of whom spent at least $250 apiece to see her speak.

She urged the donors to not just "write the checks, but make the calls."

"Change happens because of women like us who stand up and speak out and work day and night because we know what's at stake," Obama said. "We know what's at stake for our health."

Mrs. Obama's New York City event comes just days after President Obama and former President Bill Clinton raked in upward of $3.6 million at a star-studded fundraiser in the city on Monday.

In March, the first lady took another solo trip to New York for a fundraising double-header. The first stop was a family-friendly bowling event where supporters paid up to $5,000 to hit the lanes with the first lady.

Donors left the kids at home for the second event, a cocktail party hosted by actor Robert De Niro and his wife, actress and philanthropist Grace Hightowner De Niro. Supporters shelled out $25,000 to mingle with Mrs. Obama at the celebrity-filled reception.