Emma and Charlie Owen run their own business Totally Alive

Emma Owen and her husband Charlie spend theirs trundling up to Cornwall and back with their own personal herd of reindeer. What’s odd about that?

For the couple the long drive to Fowey has become an annual fixture as they take their handsome herd all the way to a magical Christmas event – then it’s pedal to the metal and hopefully back home to Colchester in time for the last couple of hours of the day.

This is just one example of the dedication of the couple who boast their own amazing animal family as part of their event management business, which as well as reindeers includes goats, rabbits, ponies, reptiles and birds of prey.

Emma and Charlie have run Oakleigh Fairs for almost a decade.

Together, and with their team of staff, they organise 30 events all over the UK every year, including summer country shows, food shows and high end Autumn craft and food fairs.

And when I say organise it’s just that.

“It’s top to bottom, we have to meticulously organise everything from putting together the timetable of events to the logistics to howmany portable toilets to hire,” said Emma. “We spend the first three months of the year organising our shows.

“If we so much as want to move a goat there’s a bulk of paperwork involved. When you are in the business of displaying and transporting animals, expect a mountain of paperwork!”

              Emma and Charlie’s daughter, Tilly, with little owl Squirt

Their expertise with animals as part of their country show events led to another part of their business being born – Totally Alive.

Emma, 49, a mum of two daughters, says: “Totally Alive came about as a side business because we were initially hiring heavy horses, goats and sheep for displays and terriers for racing for shows and it then occurred to us that we could actually keep our own animals. We also knew that way the animals’ welfare would be our priority.”

And so they did. And so it’s grown. On their extensive farm on the outskirts of Colchester they now keep a multitude of four-legged friends, exotic reptiles, insects, ponies, birds of prey and poultry as well as their own petting farmwhich they take into schools for educational visits.

The animals have not only become an important part of their shows but also part of the family.

“We do grow very attached to our animals, it’s impossible not do,” says Emma. “It’s a lovely life and it’s hard work but we enjoy it.

“Our daughters have both grown up surrounded by animals and learning how to care and handle them and we feel that’s a real gift for them “It’s great to be in this environment. For example if I’m in the office and I feel I need some fresh air I can nip out for walk around the farm to check on the animals or to just stand there for a minute and watch our glorious birds of prey being flown. It can really help de-stress you when it’s been a difficult day.

“We have five members of staff who help us care for the animals and it’s all go. We keep a very close eye on our mischievous goats because they are so determined to get into our vegetable path. I have actually seen a goat holding down the fence with his hoof to let the others go through – seriously they are that clever!”

Emma and her crew also take their own mini farm and petting zoo into schools for educational visits. Sometimes the reaction is truly overwhelming.

                              Star of the show – Blue the wallaby with Totally Alive’s Susan Bratt

“We go to a lot of schools in London and it’s wonderful to see the children interact with the animals as a lot of the time they have never seen a goat or a rabbit in their lives let alone pet them before,” she says.

One of the stars of the show is always Blue the Wallaby.

“He’s a real a character. He was orphaned as a joey (a baby) and so when we took him he got a lot of attention and cuddles. He’s always a big hit with the crowds wherever we go,” says Emma, who initially had a career in marketing and advertising.

“Bianca, one of our giant falcons is also a big attraction.”

So what are children most eager to find out about animals? Do they want to know the details of their habitats?

Perhaps their eating habits?

Emma laughed: “No, pretty much the first question is always: ‘Howmany times does it go to the toilet’ and will it go on me!?

Have there ever been any dramatic moments or mishaps?

“Every visit normally ends up getting loud and with a lot of excited children but I remember once we took our chickens into a school and all of a sudden there were squeals and gasps from the children, with everyone crowding around one chicken in particular.

“ I thought something might have happened to her. I actually thought ‘oh no she’s died’ but it turns out she was just laying an egg. Most of the children had never seen that before, in fact they’d never seen eggs outside of a box in the supermarket.”

Emma and her crew try to explain the field to fork process too – how animals link to the food chain.

“We have to be very sensitive obviously in explaining this but it’s something that children need to understand. A lot of the time they find it funny as they had no idea a cow or pig for example ends up on their plate.

“There used to be city farms in London where youngsters could go to learn these things but unfortunately they aren’t about so much anymore.”

Their visits also benefit special needs children and Emma says non verbal children in particular love to discover animals through touch and smell, while often youngsters from inner city estates have never even stroked a dog.

In the past Emma has taken her working cocker spaniel Barley into schools to meet the children and the reaction as first she says, is one of, alarm.

“The sad thing is some of them have never known a dog to be anything but a weapon, as terrible as that sounds we have found that before.

“So when they see Barley at first the can be a bit wary and even quite alarmed but after they realise how docile he is they crowd round and stroke him and there’s a look of almost relief on their faces. It’s lovely to see them learn to trust an animal.”

But it’s the couple’s herd of reindeers that gleans the biggest ‘wows’ and ahhs’ from the crowds. ‘Reindeer season’ for the Owens runs from November to Christmas Eve and it’s always a hectic time.

“It’s lovely and magical at Christmas to take our reindeers out to events, they always get such a reception from children and their parents.

“Of course the first question we get is which one is Rudolph? I always explain that he is busy at Santa’s compound training the other reindeer for Christmas Eve.”

And the second question?

“Can they fly? Are they going to fly right now!? Of course my answer is the truth that reindeers can only fly on Christmas Eve when little children are in bed and asleep – and it’s always under the radar!”

Emma says despite preconceptions, reindeer don’t need sub zero temperatures to be happy, although there’s one thing they’re not that keen on.

“We have 22 reindeer and ours are from Norway.

Reindeers don’t breed in captivity all that often but we are lucky we recently had six calves born.

“They are adapted to our weather as although it gets colder in Norway during the winter than it does here the temperatures in the summer is about the same.

“The funny thing is reindeers don’t like rain very much so we make sure they always have shelter.”

Among the couple’s reindeer family are Spot, who made a guest appearance on the Michael McIntyre show last Christmas, and Elsa, Anna and Sven, named after the characters from Frozen by the couple’s daughters. Then there’s Bubble.

“Bubble is the star of the show,” said Emma.

“She’s very placid. She knows I keep carrots for her in my left hand pocket and she has learnt how to open my pocket tab with her teeth and get one out. She’s very funny and always gets an audience!

Every December 24 the couple take some of their herd all the way to Cornwall for a Christmas event at a hotel.

“We’ve been doing it for years. We take them down then as soon as we’re done we head straight back on the motorway to get home in time for Christmas Day. Of course it means I have to do a lot of cooking beforehand and a lot of freezing food is needed.”

As usual this Christmas expect to see Bubble and co at events across Essex. They always make an appearance at the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Basildon.

Spokesman Mike Horton said: “Eastgate has been using Emma and her team for quite a time to raise knowledge of their animals’ husbandry and charm shoppers. We are always very impressed with their operation.”

So from January it will be back to planning country fairs, including the Colchester Town and Country Show.

Is there still an appetite for such British events today?

“I think they county shows and fairs are still a massively important part of our tradition. Families want a day a full day’s worth of entertainment,.” she says.

ý For more information, visit www.oakleighfairs.co.uk www.totallyalive.co.uk or call 01206 263088