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She has tirelessly supported the breed for more than 60 years.
When Iola Golden married Moscow, Idaho’s George B. Hatley in 1947, she already had an idea of how importantly Appaloosas would figure in her life from then on.
“While still living in Spokane [Washington], I’d come to Moscow on weekends, and George would take me to visit elderly Nez Perce Indians, such as Sam Fisher, who owned over 100 Appaloosas, and Cleveland Kamiakin, son of Chief Kamiakin,” she recalls. “Appaloosas were a favorite subject even before we became engaged.”
The Hatleys were in their early 20s when George was named executive secretary of the Appaloosa Horse Club—a then-tiny organization founded in 1938 but barely active during the years of World War II. Working alongside the breed pioneer who came to be known as Mr. Appaloosa for his lifelong efforts to preserve and promote Appaloosas, Iola had a direct hand in building an established, internationally recognized association from an original set of records that, when passed to George, fit inside a single shoebox.
ApHC member #99
For an idea of just how small the organization was when Iola rolled up her sleeves to do whatever needed doing, consider that hers was only the 99th ApHC membership number to be issued. George’s membership number is 45.
Working initially for no pay, and then for low pay by today’s standards, Iola established and handled all the ApHC’s office practices, correspondence records, registration and transfer systems, and other secretarial procedures. In the earliest years, she worked at outside jobs to assist the ApHC in making ends meet.
She remembers the red-letter day when, with $75 collected from stallion services to George’s Appaloosa stallion, Toby II, the association was able to buy its first typewriter. Until then, she’d had to produce all ApHC records by borrowed typewriter.
Iola spent her first wedding anniversary, in June 1948, working as secretary of the first National Appaloosa Show in Lewiston, Idaho. The trunk of her car served as the show office. After the association was on its feet and able to hire further staff, employees reported to work at the Hatley home, where Iola served as office manager.
Even after the ApHC was able to relocate to commercial office space in a building constructed for that purpose (today’s ApHC headquarters), she reported to work every day to direct phone calls and supervise the office staff that eventually grew to over 100 employees.
Devoted to history
As testimony to Iola’s commitment to preserve breed history, much of what would be considered archives of early Appaloosa days is filed in the Hatley basement that served as ApHC headquarters at one time.
“Early on,” she says, “I realized that history was being made. I cut out every newspaper clipping, every article that appeared in magazines, etc., and saved correspondence and other records.”
Few people have as much knowledge as she does of the ApHC’s inner workings during its up-and-coming years. Along with being office manager for decades, Iola took all ApHC board-meeting minutes from 1947 to 1978. She also recorded minutes of the Appaloosa Youth Foundation for years.
This may be why “1-800-CALL-IOLA” is a phrase that has meaning for ApHC history buffs.
Iola was part of the ApHC staff for 31 years, retiring in 1978. She’s continued to serve and support the Appaloosa community for just as long during her retirement. An active participant in events and projects of the Appaloosa Museum & Heritage Center, she’s been on its board of directors since 1975.
She keeps her secretarial skills honed by serving as the museum group’s secretary, and by typing all of George’s Appaloosa correspondence.
Iola also typed and proofed the manuscripts of each of his books—most recently, “Riding the Nez Perce War Trail Twice,” his account of 26 years’ worth of riding the Chief Joseph Appaloosa Trail Ride.
All that, and racing, too
Iola’s introduction to Appaloosa racing dates back at least 60 years, to the first National Show. Racing was part of the show in those days, and she presented a first-place ribbon to George, who won a race on Toby II.
Later, when the ApHC needed someone in the office on Saturdays to take down racing results, Iola took on the task—spending almost every summer Saturday there.
Her involvement went even deeper in the years when her own Appaloosa, Apache Double, was running. This record-setter bred by the Hatleys won 18 of 21 races, and became the top sire of Appaloosa racehorses for 17 years.
“One time,” says Iola, “I told Rex Bothum, a director from Oregon, that I hoped ApHC members would remember me for all the time and hard work I devoted to the organization. He just laughed and said, ‘The heck with that—I’d rather be known for owning Apache Double!’”
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