Lee Hatcher was not quite born with horse reins in her hands, but by the time she could take a few steps on her own, her love of horses was permanent. Today, Hatcher, the wife of Little Rock businessman Greg Hatcher, owns Pinnacle Valley Farm, Little Rock’s premiere equine boarding and training facility, which encompasses 150 acres and offers full-care, regular and pasture boarding. She also owns Finish Line RV Park in Hot Springs, the city’s newest state-of-the-art park, which offers free Wi-Fi, bathrooms and showers, electricity hook-ups, an on-site laundry, firepits, a dog park, and a gated entrance, among other amenities.
Oddly enough, Hatcher’s horse farm has its roots in soccer.
Greg and I bought property from Rush and Linda Harding around 1999,” she said. “Greg wanted to put in some soccer fields because our older kids were having trouble finding places to practice. That is what led to the Mighty Bluebird youth sports program, and while that was growing, I asked him, ‘Well, can we build a horse barn?’ So we built a smaller barn, where I kept my horses for years. The Hardings decided to sell the rest of their property, so we bought it and expanded into a much bigger barn, which is now Pinnacle Valley.”
Hatcher’s boarding business includes 13 paddocks, four barns, two outdoor arenas, an indoor arena, and an exerciser.
“We also have different trainers who teach a variety of equestrian skills and disciplines,” she said.
Her RV park, which just opened within the past year, is about as close to Oaklawn as one can get without being on the track. Hatcher said tourists can park their “home away from home” within walking distance of the track, Hot Springs National Park and Bathhouse Row.
“It was important that our guests had access to everything Hot Springs has to offer, including lakes Hamilton, Catherine and Ouachita; Garvan Woodland Gardens; Hot Springs Country Club; Magic Springs Theme and Water Park, Mid-America Science Museum; and Hot Springs Mountain Tower,” she said. “When you are in the very center of the city, you have access to everything.”
Growing up in Little Rock, Hatcher was introduced to horses through her father, a retired hematologist and oncologist who was raised in Wilson.
“Dad is retired and lives with us on the property,” she said. “He grew up in a farming family, so I think I just always had the horse bug. It becomes part of your life. My husband, Greg, is always telling our son to never marry a horse woman. You don’t know expenses until you have horses.
“You know, you’re on the road, but there’s people from all over the country, from all different walks of life that we’ve had the opportunity to meet, which is really fun. In the English-riding world that I ride, horse shows are expensive, and it’s a lot of time and money. When [daughter] Mattie was really little, I started her out riding Western, and she used to run barrels and poles on Saturday night shows. She evolved in her riding and switched to hunter/jumper, but it’s all a fun hobby we’ve thoroughly enjoyed over the years.”
Regardless of the time, effort and money invested in horses, Hatcher maintains that the beauty of being in nature with animals is the true value of her love of horses and all things equestrian.
To me, just being outdoors, being in nature and with your animals, whether it’s a dog or a horse, and enjoying that relationship teaches people to care beyond themselves,” she said. “To have to care for another animal, another being, is a really important lesson.”
She said her children were able to learn some hard life lessons through their affinity for horses.
“In racing and hunter/jumper, sometimes accidents happen and horses die,” Hatcher said. “It’s a difficult thing to understand and accept, regardless of how old you are. They have also learned about breeding horses because I do a little bit of breeding here and there.”
Hatcher said her farm artificially inseminates mares from specific stallions, usually in Europe. Sometimes, that mare carries to term, and other times, the embryos are removed and placed in recipient mares until the foal is birthed.
“It’s an interesting process with a lot of science and medicine involved,” she said. “It’s interesting for me to learn, and it taught our children about the fundamentals of life.”
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