Willow is a Suffolk Punch mare, born on May 05, 2011. Her full name is Rubra Magnolia’s Willow of Ridgewind, but her coworkers call her Willow for short. Prior to coming to work here at the Berea College Forestry Department in 2018, Willow spent the first 4 years of her life in Virginia, and then moved to North Carolina. During her raising, she learned the art of farming and horse logging and had a colt named Rebel. Willow excels at working on her own but also often enjoys working as a team with her best horse friend Hallie. Outside of work Willow enjoys grazing in the field, attending events, and being loved on by kids!
Hallie is a Suffolk Punch mare, born on June 05, 2014! Her full name is Foggy Bottom Aethling Hallie, but everyone just calls her Hallie. Hallie was born in Virginia but moved to Berea when one of our loggers purchased her and another Suffolk in 2021. Hallie prefers and excels at working in a team with her best horse friend, Willow, as she can be a bit nervous. Having Willow around improves her confidence and drive to work. Hallie had her first filly in 2022, Lena, who is now a college-owned horse. Outside of work, Hallie enjoys grazing with Willow, watching Lena grow up, and being known as Berea College’s biggest horse, weighing just shy of 1 ton and the tallest in the barn at 16 and ¼ hands high!
Holly is a Suffolk Punch mare, born on April 17, 2008. Her full name is Marrich Molly, but she is affectionately known around the woods as Holly since one of her previous owners had a mule named Molly at the time. Holly is a Kentucky native born in Hawesville, KY, living in Lexington for a bit before landing in Berea! Holly has had three babies in her life: one with a past owner and then two at Berea College. Mindy, who after weaning, went with a former Berea College Logger, and Lucy, who is still owned by the College today! Holly pulls more than just her weight when working in a team and has proven to be a great broodmare and teacher to both her offspring and Berea College students. Outside of work, Holly enjoys watching Lucy grow up and grazing alongside many of her pals and former teammates.
Holly is very special and important genetically to the small Suffolk Punch breed gene pool. Holly’s mom, Hanna Anna Ruth, was the first 100% genetically Suffolk Punch that came out of a “breeding up” program. A Belgian mare was bred to a Suffolk stud four generations before Holly to add genetic diversity into the Suffolk gene pool. After that pairing, they only bred the next generations to Suffolk Punches and eventually got the first genetically 100% Suffolk Punch from this specific line, five generations later (½, ½, ¾, 7/8, 100%)–Holly’s mom, Hanna Anna Ruth. Holly is the second of three offspring of this lineage, but the only offspring to ever breed and add pass on her unique and diverse genetics a future generations, which is crucial to the survival of the breed. Hanna Anna Ruth has since passed, making Holly, Lucy and their future offspring even more crucial to this endangered breed of draft horses’ genetic diversity and survival.
Lena is a Suffolk Punch filly (young mare), born on June 05, 2022. Lena’s full name is Foggy Bottom Marlena. Lena was previously owned by one of our loggers, who named her after his loving wife! She is the offspring of Hallie. Despite being born here at the College while her mom worked the forest with their previous owner and BC Logger, Lena officially became a Berea College-owned horse in 2023 when her owner sold her mom, her, and Floyd, the stud horse, to us so that we could expand our capabilities and grow our herd. Lena loves to hang out with her buddy, Theo, in the pasture, getting all the student’s attention and scratches and is enjoying learning how to be a horse. We look forward to watching her grow up and learn to become another great logging horse to work the Berea College Forest!
Theo is a Suffolk Punch Gelding, born Jun. 28, 2021! Theo’s full name is Cornish Theoden King. He was born in New Hampshire and made the long haul down to Berea in December of 2021 when the College purchased him to complete a team. Theo is enjoying learning the process of farming and logging from his teammate, Floyd, who has been a patient teacher throughout the process. Outside of learning, Theo enjoys hanging out with his best friend Lena, where they enjoy the pasture and grooming each other. We cannot wait for Theo to reach his full potential in the coming years and become another amazing Suffolk to work at the Berea College Forest!
Floyd is Berea College’s only Suffolk Punch Stallion and was born on Oct. 28, 2018! Floyd’s full name is Foggy Bottom Floyd, as he came to work with us from Floyd, Virginia back in 2021. Floyd became one of the Berea College horses in 2023 with plans to continue working the College forest and breeding. Floyd came to Berea originally with his half-sister Hallie. Floyd works well both alone and in a team, and is currently helping teach Theo the ways of the woods! Floyd is often known for his gentle demeanor, his luscious flowing locks, and his deep red Suffolk color. We hope that Floyd will be available for breeding in the coming year/s so that he can continue to help grow the genetic diversity and population numbers of the very small population of Suffolk Punches. We cannot wait to see what Floyd accomplishes during his time as a Berea College Mountaineer!