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what’s happening > Equine Business Management
Lawton Stables Owner Didi Summers
For the first time, Lawton Stables decided to have an intern for the summer.
We get very busy during the summer months and always look for extra help,
but this was the first time we were able to provide housing. Out of dozens
of applicants, TU student Alison Dittman was chosen to be our first summer
intern. Ali’s work ethic stood out on her resume and her persistence got her
the job. When she arrived at Lawton, she hadn’t yet found her voice and
she spent the first few weeks struggling
to juggle her workload and her happiness.
She was unclear of what she wanted,
unsure how a business worked in reality
instead of in theory, and found she was
working much more than she had planned,
for less money than she needed.
We have many people at Lawton, from
volunteers to well-paid permanent
employees, and it was up to Ali to let us
know what she expected and needed.
She found her internship had turned into
a full-blown summer job. She wanted to
please everyone and she quickly learned
that this method left it impossible to please
herself. We knew from interviewing her
that Ali had a love for Clydesdales and
expressed an interest in working with our
young Clydesdale, Harley. We gave her full
reign over Harley, from driving the carriage
to cleaning his feathers and exercising him
on a regular basis to keep him toned. It was
when she began connecting with Harley
that she realized her niche at Lawton was
to care for the horses.
At Lawton Stables, we would like our interns to be given the opportunity
to experience every aspect of life in a fast-paced work environment. In the
summer months, we manage over 100 trail rides per day, a vigorous lesson
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Ali and Harley
Ali had full reign over Harley (the Clydesdale) at Lawton Stables including carriage rides.
program, and a riding camp for children, and several other activities. Our
goal was to acquaint Ali with every aspect of a working barn, and especially
so, by giving her hands-on experience with the business aspect in hopes
that she will find her passion within an equine business.
An intern’s day is long and begins somewhere around 6 a.m. with barn chores
followed quickly with trail rides, horse
care, kids’ camp, and finally night chores.
Interns take on plenty of responsibility.
It’s a big job and it requires someone who
lives and breathes the horse world, knows
its “ins” and “outs,” and most importantly,
is business savvy – because at the end of
the day, we are a business.
Once Ali found her niche taking care of
the horses, the happiness and well being
of our 52 horses were in Ali’s hands. This is
where we watched her shine. Under her
supervision, our horses thrived and she
worked with our trail guides, vets, and
professional trainers to develop a system
of caretaking that has now become
standard procedure.
Ali became a fixture at Lawton, working
on her days off by tending to injured
horses, coming back early from lunch
to make sure that everything was being
taken care of. Ali had found her voice
here and it was clear and decisive.
Though her focus was mainly on the horses, we do believe she saw
clearly what it takes to run a business that depends heavily on the tourists
that visit the island. We hope that next summer we are fortunate enough
to find three or four interns just like Ali, and of course we hope she will
return!