The Appaloosa Museum and Heritage Center will honor its founder George B. Hatley at 4 p.m. Friday during a ceremony in Moscow, Idaho.

The museum’s board of directors will dedicate the west wing of the museum to Hatley during a memorial and ribbon cutting ceremony. He dedication will celebrate Hatley’s life and the impact that he has made on the foundation and expansion of the Appaloosa horse breed.

The actual naming of the breed originated and evolved from the Palouse when Caucasian settlers began referring to the Nez Perce’s spotted mounts as “Palousey horses.”

Appaloosa are characterized by spots on the coat that are often localized across the rump of the horse but can also be seen speckled across the entire body of the animal.

For more than 40 years the Museum Board President King Rockhill was close friends with Hatley and remarked that the breed is a part of who Hatley was.

“It was in his blood from the moment he was born,” Rockhill said.

From riding his own Appaloosa, named Old Blue, to school as a child, to becoming the executive secretary of the Appaloosa Horse Club, most of Hatley’s life was dedicated to the breed.

The museum was originally dedicated to historian Francis Haines and Oregon rancher Claude Thompson, with whom Hatley assisted in founding the Appaloosa Horse Club. Hatley also advanced the number of registered Appaloosa from several hundred to more than a quarter million internationally.

When Hatley was elected to be the executive secretary of the club, his widow Iola said, “We had the Appaloosa Horse Club in our home for 11 years.”

Iola participated in typing manuscripts and organizing records for her husband and the club.

“He taught me in the horse world, and I was good at bookkeeping,” she said.

She also witnessed the passion Hatley had for the Appaloosa.

“I married a man who had just got out of the military, had no job, and had 40 horses,” she said.

One of the many horses that Hatley owned over his lifetime was a product of one of his Appaloosa mares and a Thoroughbred from Washington State University.

Named Apache Double, he went on to win the California Derby and become the top sire of Appaloosa racehorses in the world.

All of these accomplishments came together in 1975 when Hatley officially founded the Appaloosa Museum and Heritage Center in Moscow.

His personal collection of Nez Perce and Appaloosa horse artifacts collected over his entire lifetime are displayed in frames and glass cases within each wing of the building.

“We offer a wide variety of exhibits here at the museum,” said Crystal White, museum executive director.

Rooms that revolve around the history of the breed and the Nez Perce tribe are featured at the museum. An entire wing is dedicated to the Appaloosa’s current status, and a special exhibit for children is available.

In May the center will feature its “Live Exhibit,” which is popular for its outdoor display of the Appaloosa breed. Throughout the summer, board members house their Appaloosas at the museum for public viewing.

The museum is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is no charge to visit the museum, but donations are accepted.