Registration:  ApHC #37245
Foaled:  1963
Died:  Feb 28, 1976
Color: blue roan

Wild Hope is in the company of some famous Appaloosas when talked about as being a "crop out." Bright Eyes Brother, Colida, J & B's Spotted Fawn, and Joker B. each had one American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) parent. Peavy Bimbo, Wapiti, and Wild Hope share the distinction of having both parents registered with AQHA. A look at Hope's pedigree shows that his dam and her dam were both registered with the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) as blue roans and they were both also registered with the AQHA as grays. Whatever the colors, Wild Hope appears to carry the horse roaning gene, not gray.

Gilbert Wild, father of ApHC Hall of Famer Jim Wild, bought Wild Hope before he was weaned. Later, race horse breeders Jake and Bob Snipes, obtained Wild Hope to cross on their Appaloosa mares.

The following came from The Complete Book of the Appaloosa, by Jan Haddle, published in 1975 by A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc., and is used here with the author's permission.

"Jake Snipes comments:

You may doubt the validity of Wild Hope's pedigree! But to dispell any doubts you may write to Mr. Darrel Rose at Ada, Oklahoma to verify the breeding of Alberta Doolin to Johnny Bull. Mr. Rose was managing Johnny Bull at the time of the breeding.

You could also call Mr. Jim Wild of Sarcoxie, Missouri to verify the fact that Jim's father, Mr. Gilbert Wild, purchased Wild Hope and his dam [for a large sum of money] at the time Wild Hope was just a colt.

You could also call Mr. Ralph Henley at Wagner, Oklahoma to verify Wild Hope's breeding because he has known him from a colt. Mr. Henley owns one of Wild Hope's first colts, Last Hope [out of a daughter of Wapiti].

Wild Hope was tried just a little as two, but to be quite frank they could not ride him for the duration of a race, for he would dismount his jockey. Jockey Bill Powell rode him and said he was the fastest Appaloosa living if they could ever get a ride on him.

Wild Hipe is fractious and alert, but is not vicious. Paul Powell, the trainer who trained him as a three said that Wild Hope had been mistreated and abused as a two year old. Paul is responsible for us knowing about Wild Hope.

Wild Hope ran four races as a three year old. He won two, ran second once and third once. The time he ran second was in a 250-year race at Stroud, Oklahoma. Wild Hope was leading Patty Hand a full length at 200 yards and it was at this time that he broke his right front ankle. He finished the race on pure guts and lost by only a head. After the broken ankle and during the lengthy process of healing, Wild Hope was used lightly for breeding by Mr. Jim Wild.

It appears to be a near impossibility that Wild Hope is a loud-colored and potent breeding Appaloosa [due to his solid Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse background]. Wile Hope sired one foal in 1967, three in 1968, and six in 1969. Of these ten foals, eight are loud colored and the most of them are out of TB and AQHA mares. Last Hope is Wild Hope's first foal and he proved his ability on the tracks by running AAA in his first official out on a pari-mutuel track.

The sire of Wild Hope is Johnny Bull, who is AAA plus at 350 and 400 yards. Johnny Bull had a lifetime earnings of $18,399.66. Johnny Bull produced 38 ROM [AQHA] foals with a total winning of $56,496.40!

Wild Hope's dam, Alberta Doolin, is a AA daughter of Bill Doolin. Alberta Doolin is registered in both the AQHA and the ApHC associations. She received her AA rating in the AQHA before she began to color up and it was at that time she was registered in the ApHC as Alberta Mott Doolin. Alberta Doolin is also the dam of Johnny Doolin which is a full brother to Wild Hope. He is without color and is AQHA registered and saw limited action at the track but did not get an A rating. Alberta Doolin is also the dam of Miss Wild Deck who is AAA and a daughter of Top Deck, foaled in 1965.

Alberta Doolin's dam is Dollie Badger, who is registered in the AQHA and the ApHC. From this generation back there is nothing in Wild Hope's pedigree except AQHA and TB blood. Grey Badger II was the material [sic] grandsire of Dollie Badger.... Grey Badger II was AA when this was the highest register of merit in the AQHA.

We feel that Wild Hope could have the greatest future as a sire of any Appaloosa of this day.... We think Wild Hope is the greatest outcross living."

Ms. Haddle had the opportunity to see Wild Hope at Allen Johnson's stable in Hooper, Utah, and wrote:

"Hope is an incredibly beautiful horse standing a full 16.1 hands tall, with muscle galore and the agility of a cat. His disposition was so calm, you could guess him anything but a stallion. In color, he is a deep smokey blue, with large blanket and spots. His court included daughters of top AAA, AQHA sires, Thoroughbred mares, and the finest daughters of top proven Appaloosa sires. Color seems to be no problem, since nearly all of his foals are born liberally colored with a snowflake or full blanket pattern. He is proving to be an extremely good cross on the Coke Roberds-bred horses. The Roberds horses were fully twenty years ahead of the Appaloosa breed years ago, and this is the first Appaloosa sire in years that could possibly improve on them! Proof of this cross is the horse Last Hope, an AAA runner out of a Wapiti daughter."

"Wild Hope 37,245 died of electrocution on Saturday, Feb 28, 1976, in Hooper, Utah. He was owned by Bob and Jake Snipes of Clovis, N.M., and Wild World Farms, Hooper, Utah.... Wild Hope was thirteen when he died and was a leading sire of race winners during 1973, 1974, and 1975. Wild Hope sired numerous outstanding horses, primarily in racing, but also sired show and performance champions including:  

Wild Tequila, a multiple stakes winner, holder of six world records and a medallion winner; Hope Straw, a multiple stakes winner, world record holder and a medallion winner; Wild Rooz, a multiple winner and medallion winner; Wild Cuss, a multiple winner and world record holder; Wild Flash, a stakes winner and world record holder; and Wild Officer, a medallion winner in performance.

This young sire made an immeasurable impact on the Appaloosa breed and was a legend in his own time...."

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