Make the Most of Your Intern Hire

By Nikki Alvin-Smith Photos courtesy of the author

Will your Intern be Paid or Unpaid?

Before you hire an intern you should consider whether the position will be paid or unpaid. In January 2018, the Dept. of Labor issued new guidelines for establishing whether the intern was truly an intern or whether the hire could be considered an employee. The law, the Federal Fair Labor Act (FLSA), previously had a six-part test to make the distinction between the two, and while I am not a Labor attorney, as a barn owner it is important to have some knowledge of the difference.

Essentially the test is designed to analyze the “economic reality” of the intern’s relationship with the employer to evaluate whether the internship is primarily for the economic benefit of the employer or primarily for the educational benefit of the intern. If the former applies, then the intern must be paid at least minimum wage. If the latter applies then the intern may be unpaid. Here are the seven factors you should consider:

The primary beneficiary test is a “flexible test” with seven non-exhaustive factors: 1. The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation. Any promise of compensation, express or implied, suggests that the intern is an employee and vice versa. 2. The extent to which the internship provides training that would be similar to that which would be given in an

educational environment, including the clinical and other hands-on training provided by educational institutions. 3. The extent to which the internship is tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit. 4. The extent to which the internship accommodates the intern’s academic commitments by corresponding to the academic calendar. 5. The extent to which the internship’s duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning. 6. The extent to which the intern’s work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern. 7. The extent to which the intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the conclusion of the internship.

Horse show experience is invaluable for your intern. No single factor is determinative. As noted in the Department of Labor’s updated “Fact Sheet no. 71: Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act” (https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/ whdfs71.htm), “whether an intern or student is an employee under the FLSA necessarily depends on the unique circumstances of each case.”

As you can see from above, it is imperative that you provide your intern with truly educational experiences to keep up your end of the bargain. It is not sufficient to dispatch the intern to prepare horses for riding, muck stalls and turn horses in and out of the pastures.

You need to provide a structured program and time spent making a detailed plan will help you focus on areas of expertise that you can share with your intern to make the entire experience a win/win on both sides of the relationship.

When you train an intern to follow your particular methods or protocol when

Interns can learn a lot by watching good riding. working with horses, you are laying the foundation for a stellar future relationship. You will directly benefit from the intern being able to maintain a handling and training program that is consistent with your specific methods. For example, the intern’s previous experience may be to wrap a horse’s legs while kneeling on the ground. You may know that it is safer to wrap a horse’s leg from a crouched position so that if the horse moves suddenly or kicks out the handler is able to quickly move out of the way. When you teach your intern your approach with an explanation of why your method is safer, you add significant benefit to their future safety when wrapping horses’ legs and obviously further their education.

Where do you find the perfect intern?

It is wise to have realistic expectations of the intern’s abilities before you start. There is no such thing as a perfect intern. But that shouldn’t stop you from trying to find one!

This will depend on the duties the intern will provide and the education you can provide. If you are an advanced rider with hot, high-energy event horses that you wish your intern to exercise when you are off showing, then evidently your intern choice will need to be an accomplished rider with confidence in their abilities to jump and gallop a horse. If you seek an intern who already has significant experience, then local colleges that offer an equestrian program may be a good place to start, but certainly be aware that entry-level college students may not necessarily have the correct level of ability or knowledge to work with your horses.

Chat with horsey family and friends that may have suggestions of someone they know who might be interested in an intern position. Your peers in the horse training world are also useful resources, although if they know of someone they most likely have already snapped them up. You may find a good candidate when you are giving clinics, or choose from existing lesson students or network at horse shows and put the word out that you are looking for an intern. Start with your inner circle of folks you know and gradually work to posts on social media and paid ads in equestrian publications.

It is important that you select someone whose current talent and education with horses will fulfill your needs at the beginning of your planned educational program. After that you will develop them through the further equestrian education you provide both on and off a horse. Their personality should also gel with your own. For example, if you are someone that likes minimal chat and dislikes noisy banter all day, don’t hire an intern that is evidently loud and a chatterbox. (Though this can be hard to know based on a short interview where the applicant may be nervous.)

Always check references, and remember when you call someone for a reference they are not obliged to volunteer any information. If they have been an employer of the intern, they may simply confirm (or deny), the details you already have on the resume of your potential hire, for example length of employment, job duties.

Be Fair

It is important to have a contract that defines the intern’s expected duties, times/ hours of work and terms of termination of the internship. It should also include details of what training and education you will provide and obviously explain any reimbursed expenses that you may offer or payments that will be made.

Keep your intern happy by constantly challenging them with new things to learn. Remember that people also learn a lot by watching others, so ensure that your behavior is always professional. Allow your intern to spend time watching others do their tasks, too - such as the vet doing a lameness exam, checking a mare for pregnancy, or you training a horse.

An open line of communication is a necessity. Engage your intern to become part of your team by allowing them to attend horse shows with you. Delegate tasks that you can supervise and offer advice as necessary to educate the intern on how to work with horses in the high-pressure environment at the showgrounds.

Above all, show respect for your intern and always treat them with honesty and fairness. Always address them in a pleasant tone; do not snap at them or take pressures from your bad day out on them. A simple ‘thank-you’ or ‘well done’ comment will make them shine and want to do and even better job. We all like to be appreciated, and an intern is no different.

About the author: Nikki Alvin-Smith is an international Grand Prix dressage trainer/clinician who has competed in Europe at the Grand Prix level earning scores of over 72%. Together with her husband Paul, who is also a Grand Prix rider, they operate a private horse breeding/ training farm in Stamford, NY.