One of Life's Privileges: A Ceremonial Moment

Two of the important people in my life: George Hatley, "Mr. Appaloosa," and his wife, Iola, now a member of the Appaloosa Hall of Fame. Photo by Edward Sala.

Every now and then, a person is given the opportunity to do something that amounts to a privilege. I had one of those moments on Saturday, when I got to say some words at Iola Hatley's induction into the Appaloosa Hall of Fame.

Iola has been a faithful servant of the Appaloosa breed since the day she married George B. Hatley in 1947. Now known as Mr. Appaloosa for his own lifelong efforts on behalf of the breed, George was the association's new executive secretary, and trying to get it back up on its feet after its moribund years during World War II. He was its 45th paid member; Iola was (and still is) member #99.

The couple housed the organization in their home for many years. Initially, Iola worked at outside jobs to help finance its operation. Later, when there was enough money for employees, those workers reported to work at the Hatley home. Besides running the office and managing the staff, Iola also set up all the registration files, supervised all the correspondence, and took all the meeting notes and minutes. (She was my first boss when I joined the Appaloosa Horse Club staff, fresh out of college, in 1975.)

Iola served in this office-manager capacity for 31 years, retiring in 1978. By then, the Appaloosa Horse Club was newly housed in its own modern building, with over 100 employees and a rank as the third most popular breed of horse in the United States--behind only Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds.

But as I said on Saturday, Iola's retirement from the association didn't equate to a retirement from Appaloosa work. To this day, her dining room table is always covered with Appaloosa correspondence in progress, photos, history articles, and other breed-related materials. She serves as secretary of the Appaloosa Museum & Heritage Center. Basically, not a day goes by when she doesn't give of her time to Appaloosas in some way.

She is one of my role models, one of my mentors, and certainly someone I am proud to call a friend.

As I said on Saturday, her inclusion in the Appaloosa Hall of Fame is an honor that's richly deserved, and long overdue. And when I see the look of pride on her beloved George's face...well, that pretty much says it all.