Dutch Acres strives to produce equestrians who not only know how to ride, but also have the fundamental horsemanship skills to advance through the equine industry. It is our hope that our students will go on to be high functioning and contributing members of the equestrian community. To achieve this, we have developed an education program where participants can gain important horsemanship, interpersonal, workplace, teamwork, time management skills, and more.
Education Program
Applicants for Dutch Acres Internships must be currently enrolled in our monthly lesson program and must be at least 10 years of age.
There are a limited number of internship spots available, applications are considered carefully and acceptance into the internship program is not guaranteed.
Open Barn
Open barn time is open to any Dutch Acres student 8 years old or older that is currently enrolled in our monthly lesson program. No application is necessary to attend open barn time. Open barn times are posted in the barn and are subject to change. This is a great time for riders to learn more about a variety of aspects of horse care, unmounted horsemanship, and stable management. Participants will have loose supervision and are expected to be able to do tasks as assigned without disrupting lessons going on around them.
Summer Internship
Summer Internships run from June to mid-August with a limited number of positions available. Summer Internships are Monday through Friday and are generally 8:00 am to 5:00 pm with a lunch break. Interns will gain a variety of life and work skills that can be used to begin building their resumes. They will also have a chance to gain comprehensive farm and horse management knowledge and skills. Summer interns will also have opportunities to ride in order to improve their own skills as well as learning how to school our lesson horses and work with our young, upcoming lesson horses. They will also assist in our summer camp program, supervise open barn students and learn valuable lessons on leadership.
School Year Internship
School Year Internships run year-round with Interns signing up for a specific day and times to work assigned tasks independently. School Year Internship times are available Monday through Saturday during DA business hours. A few of the typical activities Interns can expect to do include assisting with feeding horses, cleaning stalls, farm maintenance, water trough maintenance, fence repair, summer yard maintenance, barn chores, and more. Interns will be exposed to every aspect of running a farm!
Interns are expected to already have an understanding of the DA facility, how to do basic barn chores, and be able to complete tasks with minimum help.
Feeder Positions
The feeder position is responsible for the care of and feeding of all Dutch Acre horses. Feeders are also responsible for a variety of chores related to the care of our facility. This position is extremely important to the welfare of our herd as feeders are in the frontline of noticing any irregularities amongst our herd and are expected to get to know each individual horse and their mannerisms. Anyone interested in feeding must complete an application and will be required to complete a probationary training period and show proficiency in all feeding aspects before being confirmed for the position. Feeders are expected to commit to feeding certain days and times each week. Or, we also have back up feeders that may not be assigned a consistent weekly feeding but agree to be on a call list to fill in as needed for regular feeders.
Get in touch.
If you are over the age of 10 and currently enrolled in our monthly program you can use the button below to apply for an internship.
If you have questions about our Education Program please contact Kat Cromer at 501-339-1345 or email us at dutchacresfarm@gmail.com.