When Tara MacDonald of Corinth first heard about the job of grand marshal at Bangor Raceway, she thought it was a paid position.

After checking into it, she found out it not only wasn’t a paid position, it didn’t even technically exist.

“It’s fairly unusual to have one, period,” said racing secretary Fred Nichols. “And it’s basically a voluntary position and we haven’t had any volunteers in at least 10 years.”

The job is part ceremonial – leading the race entries onto the track for each race start – and part functional – shepherding any horses that break away from the procession or neglect to report to the winner’s circle after a victory.

For MacDonald, however, the non-paying job is paying off handsomely.

“I can never thank Fred enough for allowing me to do this,” MacDonald said. “We get a chance to use the track and ride and it gives me a chance to break these horses back in.”

The horses aren’t the only ones getting broken in. MacDonald is literally back in the saddle after having been medically cleared to ride again three weeks ago. The 32-year-old professional rider and manager of the Horse Sense and Animal Tails tacking shop in Corinth was badly injured in a fall last summer and was unable to ride without braces for a little more than nine months.

Alee Dos Baylee, MacDonald’s 7-year-old mare, was spooked during an equestrian competition last June, fell down, and rolled over with MacDonald under her.

“I was riding in an equitation [walk, trot and canter]. Someone threw a bottle at her and she bolted,” she said. “My right foot went right through the stirrup. Then she turned to the left fast and my left went through. When that happened, she fell to her knees and I was able to get my right foot unhooked, but not my left. I fell on the bottle and it broke under me. It was like something out of [the movie] ‘The Horse Whisperer.'”

Alee Dos Baylee got free, but came back when MacDonald called to her despite limping on two legs. MacDonald unknowingly had all the ligaments in both legs torn and/or ripped.

“I had my tall boots on and that was what allowed me to get back on,” she explained. “We got back to the stalls, but they had to cut the boots off me. I screamed and passed out.”

Baylee didn’t require any surgery, but MacDonald did. Two tissue transplant surgeries. And that was just half the problem.

“They found out I had Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective tissue disorder, as they checked me out,” MacDonald explained. “Basically what happens is the ligaments stretch and stretch until they tear. They don’t contract. We pretty much thought my riding career was over.”

But Dr. Adam Darcy and Dr. Doug Reynolds at Acadia Foot and Ankle recommended a bilateral transplant using ligaments from organ donors.

“God bless organ donors. If not for them, I’d be in a wheelchair,” said MacDonald, who had surgery on her left leg Nov. 19 and on her right Feb. 23.

She did some light riding in the fall with braces on, but the last seven days have been the real test for both her and her horses – Baylee because she hadn’t been around a large crowd in awhile and Yeah Nay Maybe, another mare and former harness racing horse that MacDonald rode while marshalling Bangor Raceway’s opening day last Sunday.

Neither horse marshaled all the races because they were a bit skittish around the track, but it was still a successful test for both horses and their rider/owner.

“It was hard getting back up on Baylee. It’s all mostly mental. I don’t think it’ll ever happen again, but it’s still there in the back of your mind,” MacDonald said. “I think the hardest thing about rehabilitation is mental more than anything. Getting back into the saddle is tough. I think I still get a cold sweat going every time I put my hat, jacket and tall boots on.

“It’s been a long road. Learning how to walk again was weird, and learning to ride again was scary and weird, but it’s also wonderful.”

Raceway reins it in

Bangor Raceway will take a two-week break after Sunday due to the Northern Forest Products Equipment Expo at Bass Park. Racing returns to the track on Thursday, May 10.

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net