When the question was asked how Yorkshire Deer Management came to life the simple answer is – “it just evolved.”

My working life started as a Game Keeper, going into the trade straight from school on a large traditional estate, one which had a big parkland Fallow herd and good numbers of wild Roe and Red deer.

Along with the usual work managing a game shoot my role gradually expanded into dealing with deer, and yes,

I started at the bottom, dealing with many a gralloch and larder clean down before I ever got to stalk myself.

This grounding fuelled my interest at a young age for deer, it gave me sound training, experience and the basis for a knowledge I’ve never wanted to stop expanding on.

With a spell working overseas in Canada for a few years which is another story, I returned to old Blighty where eventually I settled in North Yorkshire.

Through a lot of patience and perseverance I gradually built up a portfolio of land, not just in Yorkshire but further afield too, ranging from traditional private estates to vast commercial forestry.
The downside to this is that it all comes at a cost and I guess that’s where YDM developed into a business.

With rents to pay and culls to achieve my deer stalking had to become more than just a hobby again. Thus Yorkshire Deer Management was born.

To make it viable and I suppose to give a little back the seeds were sown, with a limited number of animals off the cull starting to help balance the books I registered the business, opened a bank account and suddenly started to do grown up things.
And from this I began to meet many new people, many of which I’m happy to say have become firm friends.
I won’t lie when I say that I really enjoy taking people out deer stalking, and when they immerse themselves in the surroundings, see what I’m seeing, appreciate the woods and meadows coming alive when the rest of the world is sleeping, that’s when I know half the battle is won, for as far as I’m concerned if your going out just to shoot and not notice what’s around you then your missing a big part of the enjoyment.

When it does come down to job satisfaction though, it’s the same for me every time, the finale of a successful stalk, after the belly down crawl on a hind, or the adrenaline fuelled approach of a called in Buck, when the guest holds their nerve, it’s the look on their faces, the smile, the relief and all the emotions that appear when the deer is down and the realisation hits them.

So from humble beginnings I around seven years ago where I started taking clients out again for a few summer Roe bucks, we now look after in excess of 10,000 acres, with a growing expanse in Yorkshire, stalking access in Cumbria, syndicated land in Scotland and the ability to provide all species nation wide. We also now have a very experienced Professional Hunter in Zimbabwe who I’ve teamed up with and the ability to provide Wild Boar and other game in Europe. We now also provide training, running DSC 1 courses and I am an Accredited Witness providing DSC 2 witnessing. We also offer Emergency First Aid at Work Plus Forestry course and Rifle Shooting Techniques training. All in with Goose guiding and a commercial game shoot, we are building our portfolio! Of course we also have a deer larder where we can butcher venison to supply the growing demand for one of Britain’s best wild meats.

So there in brief is who we are, how and what we are about, and I’m not one for sitting on the fence, I always want to see what’s behind the next copse, over the next hill or down the next ride.

So who knows what Yorkshire Deer Management will be offering next.

For now please see our website www.yorkshiredeermanagement.co.uk where you will find links to our other website and visit our Facebook page.