Nora Bailey Is Assistant Stable Manager This Summer

This story first appeared in the August 11, 2023, Mackinac Island Town Crier print edition

Nora Bailey grew up riding horses on the Island, first at the Little Barn on Mission Hill, and later at the Mackinac Community Equestrian Center. She remembers one of her earliest experiences riding a horse when she was seven years old, not even off a lead line yet, when she fell off and broke her arm. But that didn’t deter her. Now, years later, she is working at the equestrian center as assistant stable manager.

Ms. Bailey is the daughter of Brian and Jeri- Lynn Bailey. Mr. Bailey is the general manager of Chippewa Hotel, The Pink Pony, and Lilac Tree Suites hotel, and Mrs. Bailey is the owner of the Destination Mackinac and Decked Out of Mackinac shops downtown.

Ms. Bailey went to school in Gaylord before attending Mackinac Island Public School between the seventh and ninth grades, returning to Gaylord for her remaining high school years. She was graduated from high school this year, and just a day later was up at the equestrian center barn working. She worked at Cindy’s Riding Stable last year but was looking for something a little different this year. After talking with Mackinac Horsemen’s Association President Steve Rilenge he essentially hired her on the spot. Everyone at the barn already knew her. She didn’t originally have the assistant manager title, but was offered the position shortly after, she said. A lot of people don’t want to work in the middle of the Island away from all the people, but she likes being away from the busyness of Main Street.

“It’s really fun, and we have a lot of adventures here,” she said. “These horses, they get into trouble. They’re troublemakers.”

Ms. Bailey works with Alayna Brown, a riding instructor, and they do much of the same work, although she handles a lot of the paperwork. They arrive at the barn around 8 a.m. to feed the horses and get ready for the day of lessons. There are nine horses at the barn, including two privately-owned boarded horses. Ms. Bailey said they wished they owned more horses since it can be challenging to meet the horse riding lesson demand.

“I just really love being around horses,” Ms. Bailey said. “I feel like that’s my therapy, being around the horses.”

Ms. Bailey will study at Albion College in the fall, where she wants to study to become a veterinarian, probably for small animals, she said, so she doesn’t have to mix her love of horses with her work (any more than she already does at the barn, she joked). She will, however, be on the Albion College Equestrian Team, which wasn’t always her plan. She’s never competed before, but during a visit there she went to visit the stables and was approached by the head coach of the team who encouraged her to join.

Getting to work at the barn has been full of adventures, Ms. Bailey said, even if working around the horses can be stressful sometimes. But she loves the work and plans to return to the equestrian center during her next four years of college.

“This year’s not a done deal,” she said.