Grandpa and Sundance
This is one of my favorite photographs of Sundance and Grandpa.
By most standards, it isn’t a perfect picture. The photo is faded with age, Sundance’s ears aren’t perfectly posed, and Grandpa is dressed in the well-worn clothes of a man who spent his life doing what needed to be done.
Yet somehow, it captures the heart of Sundance Hollow.
It reminds me that life is not always polished or picture-perfect. Times can be difficult and the road forward is not always easy. But the people who shaped me showed up anyway. They worked hard, loved deeply, and kept moving forward.
Those lessons continue to guide everything we create at Sundance Hollow.
The Story of Sundance Hollow
Every story begins somewhere.
For Sundance Hollow, it began in a rural Missouri hollow, along a gravel road where hard work was expected, life moved a little slower, and some of life’s greatest lessons came from the people who loved us most.
When I was nine years old, my parents gave me a horse whose registered name was Madam Zahr.
But to me, she never looked like a Madam Zahr.
She looked like a Sundance.
The name fit her from the very beginning, and before long it was the only name anyone ever used.
What seemed like a birthday gift became something much more. Sundance became a companion, a teacher, and a connection to a way of life rooted in responsibility, perseverance, and quiet strength.
My grandparents, who lived in a small hollow along Dry Branch Road, helped shape the person I would become. They believed in showing up, working hard, and doing what needed to be done. Their lives were not built on wealth or recognition, but on character, faith, family, and resilience. The lessons they taught were simple, yet they have lasted a lifetime.
Growing up, I loved horses, books, and stories. I also understood the realities of rural life.
I remember sitting in sale barns as a child, convinced that the life I loved was one I could never have as an adult. Even then, I understood how expensive land and horses could be. Looking back, I realize how blessed I was—not only by the horse my parents gave me, but by the people who taught me that dreams are worth pursuing even when they seem far away.
My father saw things differently.
He believed education could open doors that hard work alone could not. He pushed me to pursue opportunities beyond what I could imagine for myself, while never allowing me to forget where I came from.
Life eventually carried me beyond the hollow that shaped me, but those lessons never left.
Sundance Hollow was created to honor the people, places, and experiences that built a life.
Through books, songs, and meaningful work, Sundance Hollow seeks to inspire hope, spark imagination, encourage growth, and strengthen the connections that make life meaningful.
The name Sundance Hollow is a tribute to a horse who captured a young girl’s heart, to grandparents whose influence still guides her, to parents who encouraged her future, and to the rural roads and rolling hills that remain part of her story.
It is also a tribute to the family members who helped shape who I became—parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, neighbors, teachers, and mentors. Some lessons came through encouragement. Others came through challenges. Good or bad, each played a role in shaping the person I am today.
The people who shaped me were not perfect, and neither am I. But they taught me the value of showing up, working hard, loving deeply, and moving forward even when the road is difficult.
Those lessons continue to guide everything we create at Sundance Hollow.
You can never truly go home again.
But you can honor the places—and the people—that built you.
Welcome to Sundance Hollow.
Every story begins somewhere.
For Sundance Hollow, it began in a rural Missouri hollow, along a gravel road where hard work was expected, life moved a little slower, and some of life’s greatest lessons came from the people who loved us most.
When I was nine years old, my parents gave me a horse whose registered name was Madam Zahr.
But to me, she never looked like a Madam Zahr.
She looked like a Sundance.
The name fit her from the very beginning, and before long it was the only name anyone ever used.
What seemed like a birthday gift became something much more. Sundance became a companion, a teacher, and a connection to a way of life rooted in responsibility, perseverance, and quiet strength.
My grandparents, who lived in a small hollow along Dry Branch Road, helped shape the person I would become. They believed in showing up, working hard, and doing what needed to be done. Their lives were not built on wealth or recognition, but on character, faith, family, and resilience. The lessons they taught were simple, yet they have lasted a lifetime.
Growing up, I loved horses, books, and stories. I also understood the realities of rural life.
I remember sitting in sale barns as a child, convinced that the life I loved was one I could never have as an adult. Even then, I understood how expensive land and horses could be. Looking back, I realize how blessed I was—not only by the horse my parents gave me, but by the people who taught me that dreams are worth pursuing even when they seem far away.
My father saw things differently.
He believed education could open doors that hard work alone could not. He pushed me to pursue opportunities beyond what I could imagine for myself, while never allowing me to forget where I came from.
Life eventually carried me beyond the hollow that shaped me, but those lessons never left.
Sundance Hollow was created to honor the people, places, and experiences that built a life.
Through books, songs, and meaningful work, Sundance Hollow seeks to inspire hope, spark imagination, encourage growth, and strengthen the connections that make life meaningful.
The name Sundance Hollow is a tribute to a horse who captured a young girl’s heart, to grandparents whose influence still guides her, to parents who encouraged her future, and to the rural roads and rolling hills that remain part of her story.
It is also a tribute to the family members who helped shape who I became—parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, neighbors, teachers, and mentors. Some lessons came through encouragement. Others came through challenges. Good or bad, each played a role in shaping the person I am today.
The people who shaped me were not perfect, and neither am I. But they taught me the value of showing up, working hard, loving deeply, and moving forward even when the road is difficult.
Those lessons continue to guide everything we create at Sundance Hollow.
You can never truly go home again.
But you can honor the places—and the people—that built you.
Welcome to Sundance Hollow.