When I worked on Dave “Letterfly” Knoderer‘s first book back in 2022, we quickly realized a mutual passion for adventures on horseback. Dave is a natural storyteller with a fascinating history with the circus, traveling all over, and painting custom murals on RVs. Back in the ’70s, he owned several ponies that he used in a liberty act in the circus, later graduating to a performance with a classically trained dancing horse. Because of our mutual passion for horses, I threw out the offer to join me on the trails if he ever made it this far west, but since he is based on the East Coast, I figured it was a pipe dream.

As we continued to work on several other projects over the years, including more books in his memoir series, Dave and I chatted about more of our horseback adventures and I shared some photos from my rides with him. My initial invitation had been to my previous town—the one I grew up in—where I rode under the great oaks around our local lake. It was a beautiful area, but much hotter than I care for.

Then last summer we moved north and began settling into our new town—one I was very familiar with due to regular visits to see aunts, uncles, my grandma, and all my cousins who lived in this area. I switched from riding at the lake to riding in the cooler ultra-green redwood forests filled with ferns and creeks and duff. After sending a few photos from these trails, Dave was encouraged by someone dear to him to make the trek because she knew the redwoods are incredibly magical. The next thing we all knew, the idea of Dave visiting Northern California became more solid and he booked his plane tickets!

Mid-April 2024, Dave came to visit my family for a few days and we made the most of the time we had—manning the gate at a gymkhana my cousin and her daughter competed in, visiting the adorable Victorian town nearby, hiking and horseback riding in the redwood forests, checking out the Depot Museum full of local history, enjoying the skywalk that goes eighty feet up in the redwoods at the local zoo, watching The Majestic (filmed in that Victorian town mentioned earlier), playing card games, and of course, chatting about his books. He even got a sneak peak in the Red Quill office (you will too in my next blog post!).

Dave also hand-delivered a signed copy of his most recently published work, The Galloping Snapper (one of the many books we worked on together), as well as a couple others and a beautiful hand-painted cigar box (did I mention he is a very talented artist?), in which I have placed my heartwarming collection of all the lovely cards and swag I’ve received from many of my talented clients. It’s the perfect vessel.

During his visit, my kids and Dave shared a mutual adoration for each other, playing and being silly and sharing lots of laughter together. So when I asked at the conclusion of his visit what his favorite part was, Dave answered, “Feeling like a part of the family.”