On Tuesday, June 15 exhibitors will take to the arena at the James B Hunt Horse Complex in Raleigh, North Carolina to honor the late Stone Pope in the Heart of Stone Western Pleasure. The class will feature horses of all ages and all proceeds will be donated to the Heart of Stone Foundation. In addition the NSBA has donated a trophy to be presented to the winner of the class and a horse has been donated by the Kimmel Family of Covington, Ohio to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

 
“We wanted to do this in honor of Stone and the Pope Family,” says Little Futurity Show Manager Larry Little. “They’ve been a part of our industry and Holt has done a lot for us and North Carolina Quarter Horse. I got to know him really well and he was a great kid. We anted to acknowledge his life and every dime will go to the Heart of Stone Foundation.”

Warming our hearts with just his smile, many members of the horse show community and beyond have followed the story of Stone Pope who was born with four congenital heart defects. His parents, Conway, South Carolina horse trainer, Shane and wife, Holt had generously shared their journey from the beginning primarily via social media.

With Stone’s sudden passing at 17-months-old on February 3, the Popes have seen their extended family, the horse show community, bond together to raise funds and pay tribute to the little man who had an incredible impact.

Thanks to The Little Futurity and Little Family for all of their support for the Heart of Stone Foundation. Shortly after Stone passed away they came to us and asked if they could start this in honor of our little cowboy. We are humbled and so grateful for them. The Heart of Stone Western Pleasure class as well as auctioning of MoonDog will be held on Tuesday, June 16….not Monday like I had originally advertised. Please make plans to attend! We are so excited to see the class and present the winner with an NSBA Trophy! Thanks again for all of the love and support! #HeartofStone

The mission behind the Heart of Stone Foundation is to provide support for Heart families that are going through the same journey we went through when Stone was born. It is because of friends and family from all over the world who were there for us that we were able to move to Charleston to be with Stone the entire time. Most families aren’t able to be there the entire time because of work. We want to help those families and give them support for that process. The foundation will also partner with the America. Heart Association and Children’s Heart Foundation to help raise awareness for Congenital Heart Defects.

Thanks to everyone who helped us in our journey with Stone, it is because of you we will be able to help other heart families in their journey through open heart surgery and recovery with their children.

For more information on donating you can contact Holt via email at holt@holtadvertising.com. They can also contact Gale Little at gplittle@aol.com.