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To give you a little background,
Mackinac Island is a Summer Resort getaway that allows NO motor vehicles. It is nestled in the
straits of Mackinac where the Upper and Lower Michigan peninsulas meet. Everything is horse drawn including
the tour buses, the taxis, the freight dreys, and much more. For someone
who is involved with the driving horse as much as we are, it is a wonderful place to be.
Mackinac is also home to The Grand Hotel. A world famous Deluxe Summer
Resort Hotel and the backdrop for the Movie "Somewhere in Time" starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymore.
Working with horses on the Island is not just a "job" but an opportunity
for us to step back in time to the "horse and buggy era". Limited to transportation of horse and carriage, bicycle,
or foot, and surrounded by water, Mackinac has escaped the vast changes of time to bring us back to a Victorian atmosphere.
This page is basicly a photo essay of the horses on Mackinac and a taste
of our daily routine, so please enjoy.
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| The barn on Mackinac with Carriage Room and Apartment above. |
| Lars and Todd heading down the West Bluff |
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| Randy and Michelle Stuck with Don Driving |
| Another drey going by the barn |
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| This is how all the freight is handled on the Island |
| The only Green Horses on the Island |
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| Topiary in front of The Grand Hotel |
| Lisa and Todd behind. |
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| Maryanke Alexander and Pearl in front. |
| Penny Barr and Driver JR with her Hackneys |
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| and family in her new Vis-a-vis |
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| More Private Carriages out for a Group Drive |
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| 3-Horse /35 passanger Tour Bus |
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| 20 Passanger Tour Buggy downtown. |
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| Rental Horse & Carriages available. |
| A "You-point-em" getting started. |
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| Driving Lesson Mackinac Style |
| Deluxe Lesson this time. |
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| Lasted a full block long. |
| Friesians always look good and turn heads. |
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| Driving or Riding |
| Another Grand Hotel Omnibus |
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| The Horses are Grey Percherons |
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| Our Pickup Truck on the Island |
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| Horses arrive each season via Ferry |
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| The Horses are unloaded after the freight. |
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| Hooking Up Todd and Lars. |
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| Heading up the West Bluff |
| Grand Hotels Omnibus with a Four-in-Hand |
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| Horses are Hackney/Clydesdale crosses |
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| Lots of weddings on the island |
| Lisa & Michelle after their "Hunter Pace" win. |
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| Not bad for Friesians. |
| Don and Lisa |
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| Bareback on The Bluff. |
| Even the Street Sweeper is Horse Drawn. |
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| Farrier work can even draw Tourists. |
| Dreys on the Arnold Freight Dock. |
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| Horsepower that makes Mackinac Run. |
| Alternative Island Transporation. |
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| Slow going up the hill behind self drive carriage. |
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| Hay delivery happens twice a season for us |
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| A Personal Tour Carriage. |
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| Todd and Don with the Pacific Gig |
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