North Yorkshire Reindeer: The hard-working young Yorkshire farmer who juggles two jobs with his own reindeer herd

During the four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve Mason and his herd of reindeer, along with his other herd of willing friends who go out with the reindeer will have attended more than 60 events with up to three teams of two reindeer and two people per day going right across Yorkshire and further afield.

“I never had any idea of how far and how fast this would grow,” says Mason. “But I really do enjoy it and seeing all those happy faces of not just children but adults.”

Mason says part of what spurred him on was when he’d been told by someone that he’d never be able to do what he has managed brilliantly in the past four years.

“That just me made me want to do it even more. If someone tells me I can’t do something I will try my hardest to do it.

“I bought my first two reindeer from County Durham in 2021 and my first Christmas out with them was 2022.

"Three more came from there and another seven came from the south of Wales, including two entire bulls as I didn’t have any entires originally, and now Ronnie has been responsible for my first two reindeer calves Yorkie and Whisper that were born in May this year.”

Mason gets to know his reindeer as well as he does his suckler herd of beef cattle and says Ronnie is a character, but that he won’t know until next year about whether his herd will be increasing again.

“Ronnie is quite a big lad and very laid back. I keep all the reindeer in a four-acre field behind the church in Masham and we’ve just had rutting season.

"I won’t know how successful Ronnie has been until around April time when the cows will start really showing. I’ll have no idea which cow is in-calf until then or just before, as currently I don’t get any of them scanned.

“Reindeer have a seven and a half months pregnancy period, between 225-230 days, and it is all natural bulling, down to Ronnie. I just leave him to it. What’s in calf is, and what isn’t, isn’t.

“There are different breeds of the species, mine are Scandinavian Reindeer and they feed largely on beef nuts, micronized barley, micronized maize, micronized peas, it’s a mixed diet that also includes such as molasses and sugar beet.

"We also have a calf ration. I get the feed from both of Masham’s big feed companies I’Ansons and Jameson’s.”

Mason says his Christmas business takes he and his team to many different locations but that he is very conscious of animal welfare too.

“This is my fourth year and each team of reindeer will only do one event a day, and I can run up to 3 teams of reindeer each day.

"That means reindeer can be spelled and are not necessarily out every day. We don’t do anything fancy with them like putting harnesses and bells on. People just like to see them as they are.

“We do schools, garden centres, pubs, care homes, hotels, town centres, anything. We walked the Leeds Rhinos players on to the pitch last year.

"We were at Leeds Bradford Airport 4.30 in the morning in 2023 for Jet 2’s first flight to Lapland.

“We’re booked at Amazon warehouses up and down the country for their workers to enjoy taking photos between shifts. Everyone loves seeing reindeer and they all ask their names.

"They all have names and none of them are called Rudolph, Donner or Blitzen. They have the names they were given. We have two new ones called Leo and Lucky this year.”

Mason says he has a great team for the Christmas period.

“My girlfriend Lucy helps out, as do two of my friends Sam and Sophie, my mum’s friend Jill, another good friend Chloe and others. They all make sure the reindeer are alright.

"I have three of my own trailers and two trucks all liveried up with North Yorkshire Reindeer. I hire a third truck in when we run three teams in a day.”

Mason doesn’t yet have his own farm as such but would love to have land of his own in the future.

“I milked cows for James and Oliver Middleton near Masham from being 15 and as a kid I went to my dad’s cousin’s farm at Otley.

"I’d stay with my gran and she’d take me up there where I’d spend the whole day. I’d have been 11-12. That’s where my love for farming started.

“I did an electrical course at college but was still milking cows for James and Ollie. I enjoyed farming far more and knew I could earn more for milking cows than being an apprentice.

“I got a job for Tom Sanderson at Topcliffe where I work three days a week. It’s an arable and livestock farm.

"I also work two days a week at Ilton for Andrew Loftus and Ed Staveley whose farm is cattle and sheep, and that’s where I have my cattle too. I’m grateful to Andrew and Ed for letting me keep them there.”

Mason says the cattle came first before the reindeer.

“I bought two heifers, an Angus and Limousin and then had another six bought for me out of Leyburn auction. When Richard Stockill, who’d bought them, rang me to ask whether I wanted them I was just on my way down from Hexham with two trailer loads of Hereford-crossed calves I’d bought.

“That was two years ago. I’ve had nearly 100 cattle pass through in that time. I enjoy having suckler cows.

"At the moment I’ve just shy of 50 head of cattle and I’m building up my suckler herd. I’ll probably sell some on and buy some in to make mine look a better, nicer group of cows, get some more beef into them.

“I’ve Limousin, Hereford, Angus and Belgian Blue crosses and a few pedigree Charolais that I bought 3 years ago. They were to start showing with but I haven’t had chance to do that yet, but will get there. I do quite like my pedigree Charolais cattle.

“The cattle price is good and I don’t push them. I keep them ticking along, so they don’t cost masses to keep, and grow in their own time. I’ve got everything still outside.”

Mason says he has hopes for getting somewhere of his own.

“I’d quite like to buy somewhere rather than rent, but for now it’s time for Christmas!”