OUR HNR TEAM
DENICE
HNR PRESIDENT & BOARD MEMBER
Denice has had horses since she was three years old and participated in 4-H as well as showing horses when she was young. She obtained her first rescue horse 12 years ago and has been hooked on helping horses ever since. She is looking forward to begin to show horses once again now that her daughters are in college and says she is "proud to be involved in an organization that does so much for horses in need.
JAMIE
HNR Treasurer & Board Member
Jamie was born into a horse loving family and began riding lessons at age 4 and was given her first horse at age 7; who was a member of the family for 10 years. Over the years her passion for horses was put on the back burner to attend college and build a career. Jamie joined HNR in 2018 to get back into the “horse world” and help amazing horses with their journey. Jamie believes the unconditional love between a horse and owner is an unbreakable bond that stays with you for a lifetime.
Nikki
Board Member
Nikki has had a passion and love for horses since childhood. She began working in barns for ride time around 11 years old, and has been working with and studying horses on and off since. As a working student, Nikki has had opportunities to work with horses of various breeds, disciplines, and training levels. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor's in Equine studies, and her passion for improving equine welfare through owner and rider education is a major driver in both her work with the rescue and her career.
Marian
HNR Training Director
Marian was very lucky to have been born into a horse-loving and owning family. She grew up racing around the trails bareback at breakneck speeds, which still remains her favorite way to ride. She had the opportunity to begin learning to train horses in college, and started a horse under saddle for the first time. That horse, Stanley, remains with her to this day, and last year took her across the state on the Shore to Shore trail. Marian has a deep passion for horse training through communication, kindness, understanding, consistency, and common sense. She loves studying equine rehabilitation, psychology, and philosophy of training, and diagnosing and working on issues that horses have due to previous experiences and often poorly done training. Her favorite thing to do is to work with troubled horses - the ones that are considered problems by others, sometimes even called dangerous (they rarely actually are) and helping them recover by showing them partnership, understanding, and gentle leadership. Horse North has been a perfect fit for her to utilize those skills and loves, and she is so grateful to be a part of the team and help improve the lives of horses one soul at a time.
diana
volunteer coordinator
Living in a converted chicken coop on a large Hunter- Jumper show property was Diana's first serious exposure to being responsible for horses of many personalities. Owning her own horse was a dream until her boys were in college and she found Lucky-Dude (a double 4H graduate) and Laceys Turn (a Morgan driving mare). Those two horses gave her decades of joy and education. Currently Diana does the orientation for new volunteers and is always impressed with the fine group of people attracted to HNR. The most common quote at a first visit is “The hay smells wonderful”.
EMMA
HNR Trainer
Emma fell in love with horses at a very young age - fulfilling her equine fix by providing a life of luxury for numerous Breyer bred horse models. She joined Hidden Beech Equestrian 4-H club in Cedar, MI, at the age of 8 and proceeded to spend between 3 and 5 days a week at that barn. She took riding lessons, did barn chores, taught younger 4-H’ers, exercised and trained horses, competed in low level showing, attended 4-H expos, and participated in Horse Bowl at both the state and national level. Her engagement with the group continued through high school, college, and on to this day. She has a particular passion for long, lanky, energetic Thoroughbreds, but loves any and all horses. Emma and her fiancé Dillon began as feeders at Horse North, and when Emma started working horses the very first one she trained was exactly her type. Dillon adopted handsome OTTB Jack as a wedding gift for Emma and the two are becoming quite the team! She says: "my God given passion in life is working with horses and I am thrilled to join Horse North Rescue and assist in the rescue's incredible and noble work. All horses deserve a home where they can heal, trust, and learn."
EVER THOUGHT ABOUT VOLUNTEERING?
We love what we do. It’s the reason we spend countless hours helping nurture and grow Horse North Rescue. If you have ever wanted to find out more about volunteering, we’d love to meet you!