Georgia Magazine - July 2018 - 18

MK PHOTOGRAPHY / COURTESY DORINDA HENNINGS

Thor also has gotten used to dressing up, and one of his next adventures will be participating in medieval gaming as part of the Meridian Cavalry.

bred Percheron mare who turned
out to be a wonderful trail-riding
horse.
When they purchased Xena,
Dorinda and David Hennings had
no idea that she was pregnant.
"And a year later, this pops out!"
Dorinda Hennings says, gesturing
toward Thor. "To think both of these
magnificent animals were almost
slaughtered is horrible!"
Thor was born on March 26,
2007, right by the couple's back
steps. As he grew up, Thor spent
most of his time with the late Cisco,
an American Quarter Horse, and
Raindrop, a donkey the couple
rescued the day after they bought
Xena. Cisco helped teach Thor how
to behave on trail rides and acted
as his "stepdad." Raindrop is Thor's
nanny. She would play with and
comfort him when he was younger,
but their play time has become less
and less as he has gotten too big
and plays a little too rough.
Xena now lives with family
friends, but she and Thor still see
each other from time to time.

A rare breed-literally
Thor's size is just one marker
of his unique and rare breed. The
American Sugarbush Harlequin Draft
breed-a blend of purebred Percheron, Appaloosa and draft horse
breeds-was started by Everett
18

Smith, who owned a carriage company in Ohio and wanted to create
a new breed of sturdy horses to
pull his carriages. According to the
American Sugarbush Harlequin Draft
Association (ASHDA), Smith wanted
an animal "with a stellar disposition
that could work long hours and was
trustworthy and capable."
The first American Sugarbush
Harlequin Draft horse was born
in 1999, named Sugarbush Harley
Quinne. Smith retired in 2008, and
the breed declined because of poor
handling. The ASHDA (sugarbush
harlequindraft.com) has been working hard to keep the breed alive and
maintain the registry, which has a
strict policy on clean genetics and
breed standards. Thor was registered
and has been an ambassador for the
breed since 2015.

"[The breed] almost went into
extinction when Mr. Smith retired
and sold off all his breeding stock. At
the time Thor was invited in, there
were only 100 or less in the world!"
Dorinda Hennings says.
Horses of this breed are perfectly
suited to dressage, driving, eventing
(dressage, cross-country and show
jumping) and trail riding and make
wonderful therapy horses. Because of
its heavy draft-horse influences, the
breed has "a willing attitude, a strong
work ethic and a loyal personality,"
according to the ASHDA.
"[It's] a very versatile, familyoriented breed," says Hennings, who
also has Thor pull fallen tree limbs
and give children rides at birthday
parties.
And Thor is not done learning
yet! He recently became a member of
the Society for Creative Anachronism,
an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating
the arts and skills of pre-17th-century
Europe. As a member of the Meridian Cavalry, Thor will participate in
medieval equestrian gaming, such
as events in which riders must catch
rings or strike objects with lances as
they gallop by. Hennings also plans
to teach Thor to herd cattle.
To contact Hennings and see
updates on Thor, visit bit.ly/fbthor.
Katie Cowart lives in Athens
and graduated from the University
of Georgia in May. She worked as an
intern at GEORGIA Magazine during spring semester and is the proud
owner of a Thor painting.

Georgia Equine Rescue League
The Georgia Equine Rescue League (GERL) in Bethlehem is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the starved, abused and neglected horses of Georgia. The
organization supports the Georgia Department of Agriculture Equine Division and
works with local law-enforcement offices and animal control agencies to train the
officers in proper horse handling.
GERL also houses and fosters horses up for adoption, training them for recreational and working uses. At its annual GERL Rescue Challenge in Athens, the rescue
horses show off their training, raise money and get adopted. Thor's donated painting
raised $100 for GERL at its 2016 auction, and Dorinda Hennings plans to donate
another of his paintings for this year's GERL Rescue Challenge on Oct. 20 at the
University of Georgia Livestock Instructional Arena.
To learn more or donate, visit gerlltd.org.
More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

GEORGIA MAGAZINE

http://www.sugarbushharlequindraft.com http://www.bit.ly/fbthor http://www.sugarbushharlequindraft.com http://www.gerlltd.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - July 2018