WEDNESDAY, JULY3, 2002
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 13
Bed and breakfast adds cattle driving to its menu
By Todd Smith Kansan staff writer
Watching the Texas longhorn cattle rustling up dust across the horizon might be an everyday occurrence in Texas, but it is also possible just outside of Lawrence.
Rob Phillips, owner of Free State Farm, 1431 N. 1900 Road, is trying to bring a cowboy flavor to the area by providing cattle drives at his farm.
The cattle drives had 20 head of cattle and took approximately a half -hour, he said.
Phillips said that he and his wife, Beverly, drove the cattle twice a day, at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. They started the cattle drives on June 1.
Lawrence resident Emma Phillips herds a group of cattle around the trail at the Victorian Veranda Country Inn, 1431 N 1900 Road.
Phillips said they decided to do the cattle drives to attract business to their bed and breakfast on the farm just north of Interstate 70. The Victorian Veranda Country Inn, which opened in 1998, has 10guest rooms. Approximately a thousand guests stayed at the inn every year, he said.
JOHN NOWAK/KANSAN
Jeff Mercer, director of Kansas Travel and Tourism, said 67 percent of Kansas tourists wanted to know where they could have a cowboy experience.
Phillips said they decided to do the cattle drives to attract business to their bed and breakfast on the farm just north of Interstate 70.
"Weare giving them a place in Kansas to see a cowboy." Phillips said.
Tarah Herrington, Lawrence sophomore and horseback training instructor at Free State Farm, said she would be driving the cattle before the summer was done.
"This is the only place I know of where I
can get on a horse and go cattle driving," Herrington said.
Phillips said they modeled their cattle drive after one that is done in Fort Worth, Texas at Stockyards Station, the site of daily cattle drives.
He said it worked well in Fort Worth and brought in hundreds of tourists every year.
Phillips said since they started the cattle drives in June, they have had about 80 people come to watch or be a part of it.
"It's starting to be a steady flow of customers," he said.
He said they had a viewing area where people could watch the cattle drive for free. Riding along on a horse costs $40. To ride along in a wagon pulled by horses during the cattle drive costs $10 for people over 12, $5 for children 6 to 12 and free for children 5 and under.
Amber Kjelshus, Gardner senior and the lead horseback riding instructor, said horseback riding lessons were provided at Free State Farm.
Kjelshus said private lessons cost $25 an hour and group lessons cost $75 an
hour. She said private lessons were provided through the farm and group lessons through the Lawrence Parks and Recreation department.
Kjelshus said the farm offered two-hour trail rides that costed $38 for people who had been on a horse before.
The trail rides were usually done on weekends by appointment, she said.
Kjelshus said learning to ride a horse could be a self-empowering experience that was better than sitting at home watching television.
"Galloping on a horse in a wide open field is the best feeling," Kjelshus said.
Contact Smith at tsmith@kansan.com. This story was edited by Mike Gilligan.