Intern on a Fjord Farm

What will the Summer of 2010 do for you?

Our interns are a very important part of our summer operations. If you have a love of horses and want to learn the operations of a small horse farm - what it really takes to make it all work - consider being an intern at Willows Edge Farm.

Willows Edge Farm located in Bothell, WA, is an up and coming, yet small Norwegian Fjord horse farm. (On 2 1/2 acres we care for 4-8 Fjord horses, as well as gardens and other small animals). We have been studying and researching the Fjord horses for over a decade now and are very proud of what we have put together so far. We are serious about the breed, yet love to have fun with our Fjords and our farm!

Our Apprentices Must:

* Have good communication skills
* Have horse knowledge or a desire to learn
* Be good with animals
* Be good with kids
* Be available to work 4-5 days per week and commit to 5-6 hours each day
* Be drug and smoke free
* Be Responsible
* Have a school, church or community recommendation or referral
* Have transportation daily

"Excellent learning experience, great way to explore a career in horses." Jacqui B. 2008 Intern

Our positions last the summer, and in that time, you will gain understanding and knowledge of basic horsemanship (or advance your current knowledge), breeding and health care. You will be learning training skills that will work with all ages of horses. You will also learn what it takes to make a farm run - both in time as well as expenses and all the not as fun things that have to be done to keep things running as well as finding opportunities to provide extra income for your farm.

You will also learn the little details that go into grooming the Norwegian Fjord horses for special parades, expos and other events with the opportunity to travel with us.

While this is a volunteer (un-paid) position, we do offer meals and snacks while you're working (and traveling with us, if that's whats on the agenda for the day).
Norwegian Fjord mare Elsie Rose

NEW FOR 2010: 2 LIVE IN POSITIONS FOR THOSE OUT OF STATE/COUNTRY. APPLY EARLY.

Why...

You may be asking yourself why we do this. We find this to be a very beneficial partnership for both everyone involved. Although we both - you and us - gain many, many benefits, just a couple are:
You will get to ride with instruction most every day on the same horse!
Interns learn very valuable thinking skills - learning to think "outside the box" in farm business terms.
The farm gets valuable help with "extra hands" doing daily farm chores, working horses and with the kids of Farm Life Camp.
The farm also finds future employees for paid positions. From time to time we have the need to bring people with us to events - or even here on the farm - and we want people who KNOW us and the horses. Our "apprentices" become a valuable resource for the community.

What is the value of all of this hard work?
To calculate the value of your summer add up the following:
Daily horseback riding and lesson costs?
Horsemanship skills learned - WAY beyond riding lessons?
Breeding and foaling skills?
Farm care knowledge?
Sales and business skills?
And so much more...

We feel what you will gain really is priceless. We don't know of any other farm that opens their doors the way we do, without charging for it. If this sounds like this the opportunity you've been waiting for, wait no longer! We have a simple application for you to fill out below. We hope to have all the positions filled by May 1, 2010, but you can complete the application at any time. Preference will be given to those able to start early and be committed to the summer.

More Intern Information? Questions? Contact us here.

Junior Interns

We do accept a VERY limited number of junior interns to work our program throughout the summer. We select these junior interns from our own lesson student population or prior camp students. Please drop us a note if you are interested and we will let you know the dates/availability/rates for the junior intern program.

Intern Application
Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.
First Name* First Name*
Last Name* Last Name*
E-mail Address* E-mail Address*
Street Address
City* City*
State/Prov* State/Prov*
Home Phone* Home Phone*
Age* Age*
Grade* Grade*
School* School*
How will you be transported to the Farm?* How will you be transported to the Farm?*
Weight over 200 lbs? (Used only to determine which horses you can work)* Weight over 200 lbs? (Used only to determine which horses you can work)*
Do you have a current first aid/CPR card?* Do you have a current first aid/CPR card?*
Prior Experience with Animals* Prior Experience with Animals*
Please list ONE reference, not related to you & their contact information* Please list ONE reference, not related to you & their contact information*
Why do you want to Intern on the Farm?* Why do you want to Intern on the Farm?*
What weeks of the summer are you most interested in being an intern?* What weeks of the summer are you most interested in being an intern?*
Who is a hero to you and why?* Who is a hero to you and why?*

PLEASE NOTE: APPLICANTS WHO ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE FULL SUMMER WILL BE GIVEN PREFERENCE OVER PARTIAL SUMMER APPLICANTS.