James Mason
In Town: James is in sales with Williams Tractor in Fayetteville, Ark. James has been working with Williams Tractor for five years, selling everything from bulldozers to lawnmowers to fourwheelers, tractors, hay balers. As James put it, “It’s a never ending list.”
In the Country: James is a horse lover, no doubt about it. But when James fractured his back in a serious accident years back, his doctor warned him if he continued riding, and if he got dumped off again, he could really be hurt permanantly. So, as James tells it, when they sold their horses, in 1989, his wife insisted they visit a miniature horse farm. “I was totally against it at first. But when we went to see them, we came home with them. I suppose we’ll have them as long as we’re here,” James smiled. James and his wife Pam operate Valley M Miniatures, and James also trains American Brittanys for quail and pheasant hunting, as Valley M Gun Dogs. They are members of the two miniature horse association registries; the American Miniature Horse Association, AMHA, and the American Miniature Horse Registry, AMHR.
How do you care for these horses?
“Miniature horses are pint-size, full-size horses. They need the same medications, they require a quarter of the grain, but they need a farrier and all that, the same.”
How do you market your animals?
“We showed for years. A lot of people we showed with we are still in contact with. We had the 2001 AMHR National Champion and the 1999 National Grand Champion. We sell to local people for kids, they make great 4-H or FFA projects. I am also an auctioneer and I sell a miniature horse auction twice a year in Guthrie, Okla. That’s a lot of fun.”
How does your job in town and your work at the farm complement each other?
“The farm complements my job because I’m involved in agriculture, so I feel some of the pain my customers feel. I have some tractors, equipment, I feel those ups and downs of farming. At work, I try to help the farmer with problems they run into, with our products or programs. And with my job, I am always learning from my customers.”
By OFN Staff
