Jeffrey AronsonAttend a wedding or corporate event and you’ll quickly discover your social standing through the table seating arrangements. Should your presence be deemed an afterthought at a wedding, you’ll find yourself seated with distant relatives or total strangers; at a corporate event, you’ll sit far, far away from the head table.
Series and Defender enthusiasts know this feeling. While they watch “Range Rover House” events at posh resorts and Discovery launches in Palm Springs, they wonder, “What about us?” The Defender returned in 2019 after a three-year absence, yet Land Rover North America had done little to celebrate the iconic model in the corporate lineup – until Destination Defender.
Land Rover North America took a page out of their 2020 4XFAR Festival and gave Defenders their due. The celebration, dubbed Destination Defender, took place over Veterans Day weekend at the Oz Equestrian Farm in Saugerties, NY. The event commemorated the Defender’s history, demonstrated its capabilities on a purpose-built off-road course, introduced the new Defender 130 [see p.38 -ed], and presented the winners of the latest Defender Service Awards [see p.36 -ed].
From a corporate perspective, Land Rover has attached the Defender name to all Series I–III vehicles from 1948–1983 and L316 models from 1983–2016. So in addition to the new L663 90/110/130, the call went out through social media to enthusiasts with any “Defender” to attend the event to celebrate their support of the model. The response grew so quickly that Land Rover’s event team had to scramble to accommodate the crowds. Enthusiasts traveled from as far away as Virginia, with a large convoy exiting en masse from JLR’s headquarters in Mahwah, NJ.
Off-road design impresarios Joel Raymond and Cody Lee, with additional help from Land Rover Driving Team instructors Fred Monsees and Jim Swett, set to work to create hill climbs out of flat land, trails through tree stands, and bridges over water crossings. Driving Team instructors Sean Gorman, Dave Rees, Jamie Cote, Travis Martin, Lynda Melanson, Jeff Miles, Ben Wooten, and Warren Blevins patiently took hundreds of enthusiasts through the course.
Mother Nature sent torrential rains just prior to the event, which left the off-road course sodden, the bridges nearly underwater and the man-made hills slowly dissolving under the weight of traffic. The conditions forced Land Rover to cancel the scheduled time to take your own Defender through the course. The irony did not escape owners that their Defenders could not run a course because of muddy, boggy, and slick conditions.
Oh, well, you could still practice your slacklining, mountain bike agility, and culinary skills, and ogle Jim Macri’s High Meadow Farm Land Rover collection. Kids, dogs, and families enjoyed wallowing and sliding on the muddy grounds; no one seemed to mind. Steve Beres and Ike Goss, hosts of The Underpowered Hour podcast, taped interviews all day. Rebelle Rally contestants Liza Beres and Jenna Fribley presented an inside look at competing in the 2022 Rebelle Rally [see p.14 -ed]. Camel Trophy veterans recounted their adventures in the fabled international competition. Jim Macri spoke about the re-creation of his Centre Steer prototype.
Regardless of which generation Defender you owned, you could wander between the hundreds of Defenders, from Series I’s to military Forward Control 101’s, Dormobiles, NAS Defenders, and UK and European imports. Newer L663 enthusiasts marveled at the spartan nature of the early models; longer-time L316 enthusiasts could only wonder what it must be like to have ergonomic seating, quiet interiors, and unobtrusive climate control.
Hundreds of Land Rovers driving over-saturated fields of clay soil, covered by slick grass, taxed almost every vehicle – even walking felt like crossing an icy pond – and resulted in spontaneous lessons in recovery. By the time the event came to a close on Sunday, every enthusiast had experienced what all Defenders could do and should do.
Memo to Land Rover: Start planning the 2023 Destination Defender now. Memo to self: Plan on attending.
Oz Equestrian Farm, Saugerties, NY
Land Rover wanted a locale for Destination Defender that met its needs: proximity to its New Jersey headquarters, space for hundreds of Land Rovers, and all the activities, amenities, and visual appeal. It got all of that and more when it chose the 82-acre Oz Equestrian Farm in the Hudson Valley town of Saugerties, NY.
Oz as in Australian? No, Oz as in The Wizard of Oz.
The farm gained its name through its owner, Jennifer Oz LeRoy. Her great-grandfather was Jack Warner, a founder of the Warner Brothers Studio in Hollywood. Her grandfather, Melvyn LeRoy, produced The Wizard of Oz – thus, her middle name.
The well-kept fields, engaging verdant views, and classic barns and buildings only added to the pleasure of seeing the four Defenders that Jennifer’s husband, Steven King, [no, not that one -ed] uses to work the farm. Steven described the modification and upgrades he’s done to his fleet.
The Farm’s success as a venue for weddings, glamping weekends, and corporate or group retreats does not come as a surprise. The fields, buildings, and paddocks proved perfect for the Destination Defender event; the Oz Farm team of planning, catering, and groundskeeping experts made the weekend feel seamless and added to the pride we take in our Defenders.
[For more information, visit www.ozfarmny.com -ed.]