George Hatley
George B. Hatley was born July 18, 1924, near Pullman, Washington. He was born on the ranch that his grandfather had homesteaded in 1877. He'd come to the Palouse Country by wagon train. The Hatley family has owned Appaloosas since 1877. George Hatley attended elementary school at a one-room rural schoolhouse, where the students rode horses to school and the noontime recreation was horse racing. He attended Moscow High School and was enrolled in vocational agriculture all four years. During high school he was president of the Future Farmers of America chapter. He was high-point contestant in the district judging contest, delegate to the state Future Farmers of America convention, was on the judging team to the state judging contest, the tri-state judging contest, and to the Pacific Livestock Exposition. He was also reporter for the Pacific Future Farmers of America Meet. He showed livestock successfully at the Junior Livestock Show, the county fair, and open horse shows. He graduated from high school in 1942. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy. In 1948 he won the University of Idaho's Fitting and Showing of Light Horses Award at their annual Little International. In 1950 he received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Idaho having majored in Animal Husbandry. He served as 4-H Club leader in 1947. Cattle and horses that were purchased during high school for a project in Agriculture gradually grew into a livestock ranching enterprise. In 1947 he married Iola Golden.They have one son, Craig. He pastured cattle with two grazing associations and was the Secretary of the Kendrick Cattle Association and President of the Helmer Cattle Association. In 1946, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Appaloosa Horse Club.In 1947, he became the Executive Secretary, a position he held for 31 years. He financed the operation of the registry for nine years and worked without pay as Executive Secretary for 11 years. In 1946, he started publishing a one-page mimeograph sheet entitled "Appaloosa News" which gradually grew into a full-sized breed journal. He served as editor of the "Appaloosa News" from 1946 to 1966.In 1947, he published the first Appaloosa Stud Book. In 1948, he produced the first National Appaloosa Horse Show and in 1949, the first National Appaloosa Sale. The first four National Appaloosa Shows and first sale of were held at the Lewiston Roundup Grounds. In 1950 he co-authored the book "The Appaloosa Horse." He has authored over 100 articles and pamphlets on a wide range of horse subjects and has helped produce several movies on horses, horse shows, and trail riding. He has served as judge for 4-H horse shows and other fair horse shows, lectured on judging, packing, and trail riding for horsemanship classes, and has conducted over 20 breed registry seminars throughout the United States. He organized and managed the Chief Joseph Appaloosa Trail Ride, an annual ride the presently attracts over 300 riders per year. Mr. Hatley also developed and served as a director of the Appaloosa Museum. In August 1961, "Sports Illustrated" awarded Mr. Hatley their “pat-on-the-back” trophy and featured him in their column as "Savior of the Appaloosa." In 1963, he was awarded a place in the Washington State University’s Lariat Club’s Hall of Fame, and in 1966 was given a Certificate from the Moscow Chamber of Commerce, "For bringing the City of Moscow, Idaho into National Prominence through the development and establishment of the Appaloosa Horse Club." He has received many honors. In May 1984, he was elected to the University of Idaho Alumni Hall of Fame, and elected to the Appaloosa Horse Club Hall of Fame in 1988. He was honored by the Nez Perce Cultural Committee in 1991. In March of 1997 he was featured in a 12 page article in “Western Horseman,” entitled George Hatley: “Mr. Appaloosa.” in 1988 he offered the book “ Pioneer, The Life and Times of Riley B. Hatley,” the experiences, skills and philosophy of a pioneer who migrated west by covered wagon on the Santa Fe Trail to Colorado in 1867 and ten years lateron the Oregon Trail by covered wagon on the Palouse Country where he homesteaded.
By Dee Klenck |
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