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over twenty years, Beaver Dam Farm has been welcoming summer interns from
Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, U.S.A & Canada.
--- Most of our interns are girls, but we’ve
also had two boys -- one from Holland and one from Germany. It’s
interesting that of all the interns from all the years, the two boys have
stayed in closest contact with us. One, Henning, is now in dental school,
and the other, Remco, was just married this Spring, and ten years after he
left us as a 19 year old boy, he returned with his fiancee, Heidi.
All of these young
people have had a very positive effect on our lives.
Arthur and I enjoy long conversations with
them around the dinner table, talking about their countries and ours, and
the prevailing ideas on politics, environmental concerns, and social issues.
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Nova Scotia is a
miraculous place to live. Nova
Scotia is a place where you can “step back into time” to a kinder, gentler
way of life. In the whole province, which is surprisingly big in land
mass, there are fewer than a million people. To show you how big Nova
Scotia is it takes 12 hours to drive from the northernmost part of
Nova Scotia (Cape Breton) to the southernmost part (Yarmouth).
 Having such a low population means that we don’t have the problems of
larger places. There’s very little traffic and very little crime, and the
people are really nice outgoing and friendly.
Nova Scotians have a
culture of theatre and music and there’s always lots of both available
throughout the year, particularly in the summer. It‘s astounding the
number of artists, sculptors, musicians, writers, actors,
dancers and singers there are in this small place. Ten minutes
from the farm, there’s a wonderful little theatre that puts on many
professional productions each week throughout the summer. Celtic music
is extremely popular here.
Probably the biggest
attraction of the summer, historically, are - The Antigonish Highland Games
(Scottish games) . These are the oldest Highland Games o777utside of
Scotland - 138 years in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. - The games start on a
Sunday in July with a service at St. Ninian’s Cathedral in Antigonish, and
run through the following weekend with the heavyweight events.
It’s a fun week, and we
always allow time for the girls to enjoy the festivities.
Nova Scotians also
have a strong culture in hospitality. Arthur and I always urge the interns to
make the effort and take the take the time to discover what the local
people are all about. Those that do, will have the most interesting and
productive Canadian experience.
The Nova Scotia people are welcoming and always very interested in
visitors. They want to talk with you and find out where you’re
from, and why you chose to visit Nova Scotia . . . so our advice
to all the Interns is to go into the shops and talk to the people. If you do
that, you will discover the real Nova Scotia.
 WHAT
WE OFFER INTERNS
A wonderful learning vacation in a beautiful, friendly part of the world.
--- A chance to experience first-hand the Canadian way of life --- A
chance to practice and improve your English -----A chance to improve your
horsemanship -- A chance to make new friendships with girls from Europe,
Canada, the U.S.
You
will live on beautiful Beaver Dam Farm - 350 acres of rolling fields and
spectacular ocean views. --- A lovely, 6 mile beach is ten minutes from
the farm --- A summer full of good time, learning, and new friends -
-- We offer an opportunity to experience a successful horse breeding,
training, and equine tourism business.
Our internship
program fulfills the requirements of most equine schools.
If you are coming to us to meet your school’s requirements for an internship
---- at the end of your stay with us we will be happy to fill out your
internship forms, or write a letter to your school detailing how you did in
the program.
WHERE WE ARE
LOCATED
We’re on the northern coast of Nova Scotia which is called the Sunrise
Drive. It’s a beautiful part of the province with a gentle shore and
warm-water beaches. -- We’re in between the delightful Prince Edward
Island, and the breathtaking Cape Breton Island with its Cabot Trail,
described by Alexander Graham Bell as “The most spectacular drive in
North America.”
Our farm is 15 min. from
the university town of Antigonish. The town is quite lively with music and
theatre all summer, as well as some fine restaurants.
WHO WE ARE
 We’re Carol & Arthur Rivoire, and we’ve been running Beaver Dam Farm Fjords
II Limited for over 25 years. --- We have an excellent reputation in
the horse world, and we’re well-known in the world of Fjordhorses for
having high quality Fjords and being able to match them successfully with
buyers. -----Our Norwegian Fjordhorse breeding and training farm employs
three full-time people. We have a handyman to do the farm and heavy work.
---
OUR BUSINESS
Beaver Dam Farm has been in the business of breeding , importing, training,
and selling Fjordhorses for twenty-five years. We run an equine tourism
program called Nova Scotia Beginner Driving Vacations, now in its 14th
season. We’re an active, versatile equine business with a long track
record, and have much to offer young people looking to make a career with
horses. To understand the different areas of our business, and to see
the beautiful location of the farm, please go to our website.
www.beaverdamfarm.com
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Our farm has welcomed summer
interns for twenty years. Most of our interns come from Europe, but we had
one American girl from Teikyo International University in West
 Virginia who
was very successful here. We’ve also had some Canadian girls
This year, we are
offering internships to American and Canadian students as well as to
Europeans. We prefer that
interns stay for at least six weeks, but we are flexible, so if you
can stay less than six weeks, it is possible that your schedule will fit
ours. However, in any case, four weeks is the minimum stay. Also,
it must be pointed out that girls staying from 2 - 3 months get the most
out of their Canadian experience. This is true as it often takes
a few weeks to feel comfortable and settle in. Preference will be
given to those girls who can stay the entire summer to the end of August. The early part of the season . . . May - June is the time we use to
get ready for the main season, so we greatly appreciate girls who can
come early.
SKILL REQUIREMENTS
FOR INTERNS
We accept interns who have a
good level of horsemanship, meaning experience caring for horses and an
“intermediate” level of riding, preferably in dressage. To us,
“intermediate” level means being comfortable and confident on the horse at
all gaits, and able to ride correctly and influence the horse. Driving
experience helpful, but not required. We will teach you.
VERY IMPORTANT
Interns must be confident, sociable and used to being away
from home.
INTERNS’
ACCOMMODATIONS
The girls live together in the upstairs of our home. There are three nice
double bedrooms, and one single room. The bathroom is shared. -- Sheets
and towels are provided.
IMPROVING
ENGLISH
 Improving
their English is one reason many interns come to Canada.
For that reason, we put girls from different countries in rooms together to
encourage them to speak English. If we have English-speaking interns, we
always put them with a European girl. --- English is the language of Beaver
Dam Farm. All the interns are required to speak English at all times when
they are with other interns, or with Carol & Arthur, or the staff in the
barn. The only time interns are permitted to speak their own language is
when they are away from the group -- taking a walk, for instance. In this way, the interns will make the most progress in improving their use
of the English language.
MEALS
Our interns eat all meals with the family. -- If at all possible, we will
buy favorite foods for the girls. -- Our pantry and refrigerator are
well-stocked at all times, and the girls are always free to help
themselves. -- Sometimes meals will be prepared by Carol, and other times
by the interns themselves.
DUTIES OF INTERNS
 Working with young
horses from weanling through 3-year-olds. Riding horses to train and
condition. All done under the supervision of our professional staff.
---- Barn work, meaning cleaning stalls and tack, as well as any and
all necessary chores around the stable. ---- Such chores as picking rocks
out of the arena so the horses won‘t injure their feet . . . , or clearing
the grass paddocks of weeds that are harmful to the horses ------Helping
in office with chores such as running the copying machine. --- Helping to
keep the house clean and in order. -- Interns are responsible for keeping
their rooms clean and neat. And also daily cleaning of the shared
bathroom. -- Also, such chores as picking vegetables in the garden, and
watering the gardens.
There is a lot for everybody to do, but not too much! We usually have from
between four and seven interns, plus three full-time staff. So, you can see
that with this many people doing the work, there is never too much for any
one person.
Keeping the house and
farm operation running efficiently is the work of everyone who lives and
works on the farm. This means that everyone must be willing to do
any and all tasks that are required to keep the farm and the house running
smoothly. -- This includes all interns doing some housework every day,
which usually means 15 min. per girl per day. -- This also means that the
girls will be expected to help with food preparation and washing up.
MONEY
We do not pay any money to interns. They will usually, however, receive
tips from our guests during the time our Driving Vacations are in season,
which is mid June to end of August. The amount of the tips interns
receive varies from week to week depending on the generosity of the
particular guests that are with us at the time, and also the number of
guests we have each week. -- Interns should consider the tips as
“extra money”, and they should bring sufficient spending money with
them for their entire stay in Canada. |
THERE WILL BE NO COST TO THE INTERNS FOR LIVING EXPENSES
The girls are our personal
guests, and can expect to be treated like family with all meals and
comfortable lodging provided. They live in our home, and share a
room with another girl. The girls are treated as family, and as such
will be expected to help in the cleaning, dishwashing, gardening, etc. that
it takes to keep the farmhouse going.
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 REQUIREMENTS: REFERENCES
ETC.
* We require a letter from
parents saying their daughter has permission to come to our farm for the agreed on period of time.
* We require a letter from the family doctor saying that the intern is
in good physical and mental health.
* The intern must have
medical insurance to cover all medical expenses while in Canada
* The intern must bring with
her sufficient pocket money for her stay in Canada
* We require a letter from her riding instructor detailing the level
and experience of the applicant, as well as her work ethic.
* We also require a letter from a teacher in the school telling us the
character of the girl and her work ethic. |
 We offer Interns an
exciting, fun-filled summer on a beautiful farm
in a spectacular location. We’re five
minutes from a pristine Provincial beach park. We can take the horses on
the beach, and in fact, do that every Wednesday for our Driving Vacation
guests.
Each Wednesday we take two interns to the beach with us,
changing every week.
We’re located in a tiny
French Acadian village, ten minutes from a charming university town with
cinema, theatre, shops, restaurants, music, and sports. -- The girls will
have lots of opportunity to ride, and to learn to drive, as well as time
off to see the local area. -- All of our interns improve their English
significantly during their stays with us. ---Girls may apply either by
emailing or phoning. --- We prefer email.
beaverdf@ns.sympatico.ca
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