The weekend before Memorial Day means many things to different people. For some it signifies the beginning of the summer calendar, a weekend of family gatherings and barbecues or a good time to go somewhere and have fun.

Here in Hunt Country, the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend is time for the Stable Tour.

The first Hunt Country Farm and Estate Tour was actually in the fall, November 7, 1959. The idea was to fund the Outreach services of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville. Since it is the sole source of funds, they keep operational costs down as much as possible by running the whole tour with 160 volunteers. This year, depending on the weather, there will be between 1,500 and 3,000 people roaming the Upperville countryside.

A new feature of the tour is a Country Fair with 15 or so local vendors. This year's tour includes two farms that were on the original tour, Lazy Lane Farm and Heronwood.

Lazy Lane Farm consists of the majority of the former Brookmeade Farm. Daughter and heir of Dodge Automobile Company's cofounder, Isabel Dodge Sloane bought Brookmeade in 1929. She became the first lady in America to have the most wins as an owner.

That same year she had won the Kentucky Derby and four other stake races with Cavalcade, who was dubbed "The Wonder Horse of 1934". He won every race he ran except the Preakness, when his stablemate, High Quest beat him by a nose. His impressive career was made even more so by the fact that Mrs. Sloane purchased him as a yearling for only $1,200. Cavalcade's gravesite is on the property.

She was again named Owner of the Year in 1950. The end of that decade had great glory for Brookmeade when its home bred, Sword Dancer, was named Horse of the Year. Her trainer was Preston Burch.

Mr. Burch was an important figure in racing as an owner and breeder. He is an inductee of the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. After a heart attack he went to Blue Ridge Stud (also on the tour) and was assisted there by William Ballenger, who had also been at Brookmeade.

After Mrs. Sloan's death in 1962, the farm was sold to William Crossman and then in 1981 to Mr. and Mrs. Joe L. Allbritton. Mr. Allbritton's primary residence is in Houston where he began his career as a banker. His business enterprises moved into real estate and media, entering the Washington DC market in the '70s.

Allbritton Communications Co. owns several television stations including channel 7, WJLA (Joe Lewis Allbritton). His family is also the largest shareholder of Riggs Bank.

Lazy Lane Farm has recently produced the leading, all-time money winning, Virginia-bred, Seeking the Pearl, Grade 1 winner and former Virginia leading sire Secret Hello, and the Champion 3 year old of 1991 Preakness and Belmont winner Hansel. Hansel's jockey for these wins was Jerry Bailey, who also rode Sea Hero for Rokeby (also on the tour) in his Kentucky Derby win.

Heronwood has gone through many name changes and owners. Before World War I, Henry T. Oxnard, from California, changed the name from Seldom Seen to Edgewood and started a high class Thoroughbred breeding operation. He died soon afterward.

Admiral Grayson bought it and continued the breeding. He sold it and bought a neighboring farm called Blue Ridge. Admiral Phillips bought the farm from Admiral Grayson and renamed it Heronwood. He then sold it to Jack Kent Cooke, owner of the Redskins, who renamed it Fallingbrook.

In 1983, Mr. Cooke bought another farm around the corner and sold this farm to the son of Crystal City creator Charles Smith. Robert Smith renamed it Heronwood and flies out in his helicopter for weekends.

The farm encompasses nearly one square mile of pristine rolling countryside. It is still home to thoroughbreds, beef and long horn cattle.

In March of 2000 a new chapter of the farm's history began with the start of its Alpaca Division. The idea of raising Alpacas was spawned by Mr. Smith's desire to diversify his livestock holdings to include an animal that would be profitable and fun for all family members to raise regardless of their expertise in animal care.

Heronwood is now home to a colorful herd of Huacaya Alpacas originating from Bolivia, Chile and Peru. The farm specializes in show quality animals concentrating on superb conformation and fleece. Heronwood is also home to the country's oldest horse show, The Upperville Colt and Horse Show.

In 1927, when Admiral Grayson sold what is now known as Heronwood he bought one of the oldest Thoroughbred horse farms in the country. Admiral Cary T. Grayson, served as physician to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson, and later was named President of the American Red Cross by President Roosevelt. Blue Ridge has been home to sires like Rock Sand, the tenth English Triple Crown winner. Today, Blue Ridge Farm is owned by Grayson's seven grandchildren.

Several other notable properties on the tour this year:

Windsor Farm is a 180 acre equestrian breeding and sales facility owned by Margaret and Francis O'Neill and their daughter Alexa Low, a successful amateur rider.

Irish Hobby Farm is owned by driving enthusiast Wendy Ying and showcases Irish Draught horses and carriages.

Newstead Farm is currently owned by Mr. and Mrs. Bertram R. Firestone. The Firestones are leading breeders of champion Thoroughbreds in America and Europe. Their daughter Alison has competed on the US Equestrian Team for Stadium Jumping and is aiming for the Olympic Selection Trials now.

Rokeby's Broodmare Barn is one of the finest examples of excellence in stable design and maintenance in the world. It has been home to Quadrangle, winner of the Belmont, Wood Memorial and Travers Stakes in 1964; to Sea Hero, winner of the 1993 Kentucky Derby; and to Horses of the Year Fort Marcy and Mill Reef. It is owned by Mrs. Paul Mellon.

Fox View Farm, which was originally part of Windsor Farm, is now 30 acres. The nine horses at Fox View have dual roles, they spend fall and winter as foxhunters and spring through summer as side saddle show horses. Riding side saddle is a passion of owner Laura Cramer, often riding aside in the hunt field as well as the show ring.

The Trinity Episcopal Church is a famous Upperville landmark. It is the third building on the site, the first having been built in 1842, the second in 1895. The new buildings were begun in 1951, and the first services in the new church were held on September 28, 1960.

The church, parish house and rectory are the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon to Meade Parish.

Cross and Son of New York City was the architect. His design is a free adaptation of the style of certain French country churches of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Each of the native sandstones was cut by hand, and a local blacksmith forged the special chisels with which the masons chipped away the hard rock.

W. J. Hanback, master builder of Warrenton carried out the architectural plans. World-famous artisans and artists were brought in for the interior stone and wood carvings, the wrought-iron, and the stained-glass windows.