MOST of her friends wanted to go on holidays to the beach when Alison Burrell was growing up, yet it was farms that always captured her imagination.
Just as it is in the blood of a kelpie to herd sheep, the country life seemed to call to Burrell and so, for the past seven years, the Pitt Town resident has trialled sheep dogs.
From tomorrow, the Hawkesbury will again host the Sydney Sheep Dog Club trials, which last year was won by fellow Hawkesbury trialler Leigh Foster.
Sheep dog trialling involves commanding a dog to herd sheep in a paddock around obstacles in a given amount of time.
The Hawkesbury Showground will host the trials from Thursday to Sunday, and Burrell will be one of those trying to win, although she admits she is up against some stiff competition.
“You need to train the dog to follow your commands and resist their instincts. It takes a very long time to train dogs, which is probably why a lot of the successful competitors are older,” she said.
“My dogs get training work whereas some dogs work stock all the time.”
Burrell, like most people, used border collies to trial, but she originally started with a kelpie, which are mostly used for yard trials.
“I just decided to go and have a go. I had some friends doing it so thought I would join the party,” she said.
“As a kid I grew up in the suburbs but always went to friend's farms at any chance I could. I’ve always had an interest in farms.
“I was a bit of a black sheep in the family, everyone else wanted to go to the beach but I wanted to be on the farm. I used to love watching the dogs work the animals.”
In all the time she spent on farms, Burrell never even witnessed a sheep dog trial in person, let alone tried her hand at it.
“I used to watch it on ABC on Sundays when I was about 12. They don't show it anymore which is a shame,” she said.
“I never saw it in person until I started trialling.”
Sheep dog trialling has traditionally been very male dominated, but Burrell said she has never had any problems fitting in.
“It really isn't a problem. A lot of the men are retired farmers, so there are all very nice and helpful, and like to help out new people,” she said.
“They don't treat us any differently to the men.”
Burrell said she thoroughly enjoyed the competition of sheep dog trialling, despite the vast real life experience of her competitors making it hard for her to win.
“It is the atmosphere and people keep me coming back. You only see these people every few months so it is somewhat of a social event as well,” she said.
“When you compete, just improve on each time. As long as you see improvement each time you’re doing something right.”