When Herb Stone was just eight years old, he did the cowboy equivalent of joyriding: He jumped his neighbor’s fence, got on a horse and went for a ride. “I was mischievous,” he says. “Whenever I could find a way to ride a horse, I did.”

Although Stone worked many years in the electrical industry, and during much of his career he wore many leadership hats with organizations like the National Electrical Contractors Association, his first love was always horses. One day at a competition in 1994, he saw people riding fast on horses and shooting at balloon targets while wearing Wild West attire. He immediately went home and began training his horse, Pee Wee, to adapt to the sound of gunfire; the pair eventually started competing in the competitive equestrian sport of cowboy mounted shooting and went on to win 10 world championships with the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association and other national competitions.

Stone is now retired, but he continues to take regular rides on his two horses, Cowboy and Jack. In his spare time, he’s a member of Sheriff’s Posse, an organization that provides support for the families of El Dorado County police officers who have been injured or killed in the line of duty. He also volunteers with El Dorado County Search and Rescue, using his horseback-riding expertise to locate people lost in the woods. For Stone, giving back is just a way a life—the way of the cowboy.

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For more about Herb Stone and other local happenings and information, be sure to pick up this month's copy of Style – El Dorado County Foothills edition at one of these locations.