THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 25, 1996 TAG: 9610250540
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: GUY FRIDDELL
LENGTH: 52 lines
For only the second time ever in Hampton Roads, field trials of border collies herding sheep will take place Saturday and Sunday, in Chesapeake at Gum Tree Farm owned by Tom and Robin Freeman.
This region's first such spectacle last year also occurred on the Freemans' 50-acre farm at 1900 Pocaty Road off Fentress Airfield Road.
Sheep dog trials abound elsewhere in Virginia and North Carolina. Their absence hereabouts is due to a scarcity of sheep.
The Freemans, who have 80 sheep on the place, began raising them 15 years ago to supply sheep for 4-H Club projects. They soon needed border collies to round up the sheep.
Visitors may watch the trials beginning each day at 8 a.m. Profits from a $2 parking fee go to EQUI-KIDS to help handicapped children learn to ride horses. Nurses from Chesapeake schools will sell snacks, including home-baked goods, to fund a nursing scholarship.
Stalls offer an array of crafts. Sunday's trials end with a country dinner catered by Dave Warner.
Border collies are an endearing lot. Robin Freeman noted Thursday that just this year the American Kennel Club opened its registry to the breed, an action that dismayed most owners of working dogs.
``It was not a popular decision,'' she said. ``Border collie people object mainly because it doesn't matter what a working dog looks like as long as it handles sheep.
``Sometimes the American Kennel Club gets involved in developing a breed into a pretty dog that can't do what it was intended to do.'' She'd hate to see the border collie so caught up in considerations of colors, conformation and coats that sight might be lost of the purpose of the breed.
A separate registry maintains the purity of border collies.
Much of the border collie's beauty is in its behavior. Though sweet dogs, they have a kind of mission. ``They are alert to herd chickens, ducks or even cats, to their chagrin. What they like best to do is work.''
A friend told me of a kinswoman who, going to town to lunch, instructs the border collie about the area in which to herd and protect her children. Returning, she finds the faithful baby sitter circling the boundary.
To reach Gum Tree Farm, follow I-64 and take Indian River Road East Exit. Turn right at Centerville Turnpike. Follow the Turnpike to Mount Pleasant Road. Turn left on Mount Pleasant, drive four miles and turn right onto Fentress Airfield Road. Drive four miles and take the fourth left onto Pocaty Road. Go a half mile on Pocaty to Gum Tree Farm (1900 Pocaty).
Whew! Glad that's over. Enjoy the countryside. Watch for signs. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
VICKI CRONIS/The Virginian-Pilot
Donna, an 11-year-old border collie, maneuvers a group of sheep. by CNB