Berry`s Belgians - Illinois, Belgian Draft Horse Breeder
Berry`s Belgians - Illinois, Belgian Draft Horse Breeder
Promoting the Belgian Draft Horse breed across Illinois and Indiana. Berry`s Belgians was originally established in 1982 , in rural Douglas County, Illinois. As a child the late James H. Berry, Jr. (co-founder) watched his uncle, `Dutch` Warters, exhibit his magnificent draft horses and James dreamed that one day he too would be equally involved in the draft horse business. In 1982 James and one of his sons, Timothy (co-founder), purchased their first draft team of mares, brass-beaded harness and their original yellow show wagon from the Bradfield family in rural Montezuma, Indiana.
The Berry family traveled to as many events as possible to exhibit their beautiful team of mares. It wasn`t long before the Berry`s knew that in order to remain competitive they needed to expand the hitch therefore in 1986 they purchased four additional mares to work into the hitch. In addition to full-time jobs, farming and attending numerous horse shows the Berry family operated a carriage business and participated in many parades including the prestigious Indianapolis 500 Parade.
In 1990, Berry`s Belgians renovated the hitch, by retiring the mares and purchasing Belgian geldings to incorporate into the hitch. During this renovation James and Tim also purchased new harness and a new show wagon and when the show season opened a new Berry`s Belgian Hitch came through the gate. Today the Berry family continues to proudly exhibit their Belgian hitch at County and State fairs as well as private shows....
In 2004, Berry`s Belgians lost their beloved husband, father, grandfather , mentor and best-friend. Today, Berry`s Belgians consists of Tim and Connie, along with their children Cody, Justin and Shannon. The hitch is located at Tim and Connie`s farm in rural Champaign County, Illinois, where James` legacy can be passed on from one Berry generation to the next.
