For many years Double Dollar Ranch provided an opportunity for several young people each year who had a serious desire to become horse trainers and improved ropers to come spend a year honing their skills. We discontinued the program in 2013 but have decided to start it up again – giving 4 standout candidates each year the chance to learn the industry from top to bottom.

We restarted the program in October of 2024 with one Roping Horse Intern and one Foundation Training Intern. We have established a good routine and are ready to invite others to join.

Raising our own horses allows teaching everything from our breeding operation through finishing high end roping horses. You will be gentling and getting the weanlings and yearlings ready to ride, reining and cutting on the 2- and 3-year-olds and roping on the 3- and 4-year-olds. You will be working with Greg Kesler, founder/owner of Double Dollar Ranch. Greg has worked with horses all his life and has been training roping horses for over 40 years. Besides learning to handle, manage and train horses from birth to finished rope horses, you will gain experience in trimming and shoeing, floating teeth, cattle ranching, and feedlot operations.  You will also experience behind the scenes of producing WRST ropings as well as the business of marketing your horses. We can also teach you how to train working cow dogs. Most of the training will be hands-on experience but there will be morning coordination meetings and periodic classroom sessions to plan and review past and future weeks training and learn the business of the horse industry.

This is NOT a beginner program. To be an intern you must show proof of having health insurance, be 18 or over and have significant experience around horses before applying. You must be a hard worker and willing to get up early and set goals to accomplish all the above items in one year. If you are applying to be a Roping Intern, you must be a #5 or above roper. There will be lots of roping everyday along with all other training. If you are applying to be a Foundation Training Intern you’ll spend time in the round pens, out on the ranch during the warm weather and some time in the mountains working with colts. Foundation Training Interns will have the opportunity to train their own horses in whatever capacity they choose. This is not a program where you must work your way up from sweeping floors and cleaning stalls. You will be training horses from the first day and learn how to make a good living in the horse industry if you apply yourself and meet your goals.

Double Dollar Ranch includes approximately 8000 acres of pastureland, farms, a large feedlot and training complex. Our facilities include 2 outdoor and an indoor roping arenas, indoor and outdoor cutting arenas, an insulated round pen building, 50 plus indoor stalls and many outdoor runs with all the facilities hooked onto the feedlot. There are also pickleball courts, large sand dunes, many miles of bike and hiking trails on and around the ranch and mountains nearby for after-hours activities.

The bunkhouse you will be living in is newly constructed. Each intern is allowed to bring 2 horses which will be kept, fed and stalled free of charge, and they will be put in the training rotation during the time you are here. We encourage you to train your horses with the intent of selling, which will make this a very profitable year for you. You will be given a living allowance of $800 per month.

We have a short list of rules which you will be required to sign and impeccably follow when on ranch property:

• No drugs of any kind and no alcohol or tobacco allowed on the premises.
• No foul language as there are continually women, children and good friends at the ranch and we choose to keep it a safe environment for everyone who comes.
• No negative attitudes. Negative attitudes don’t help you become a successful person or trainer.
• No women in the men’s apartment and no men in the women’s apartment (if we have both male and female interns).

There will be other normal guidelines to go over if you are chosen to be one of this year’s interns.

At the end of each year, one intern will have an opportunity to be hired as staff for the following year.