Jeffrey AronsonYou might think that daily off-road driving is the central reason enthusiasts want to become instructors at one of the Land Rover Experience Centers, but in actuality, “It’s the people that you meet from all walks of life,” said Sean Jones, an instructor at the Land Rover Experience (LRE) Biltmore. “I’m a people person, and always have been. When [the drivers] put all the pieces together, you see the light of understanding come on. That’s my great thrill.”
Land Rover created the first off-road experience programs in the UK during the 1980s, under the guidance and direction of Land Rover UK’s Roger Crathorne. They exported the programs to North America, first with the Land Rover Driving Academy in Aspen, CO, later expanding to the Greenbrier Resort, White Sulphur Springs, WV; today, Land Rover Experience Centers can also be found in Manchester, VT; Carmel, CA; and Asheville, NC. Whether on site at the Centers, or by bringing instruction to different locations [see Spring 2024 issue -ed.], these driving experience schools create enthusiasts out of new owners and enhance the Land Rover experience for confirmed devotees.
Matt Albritton
Matt leads the Land Rover Experience Biltmore. He started as Level 1 in June 2015, became a Senior Instructor in 2020, and took on his current role in 2022. In addition to his LRE instruction, Matt has been a member of the Land Rover Driving Team at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, the 2017 LRE Peru Tour and the Range Rover Velar Launch that same year.
“The biggest value for JLR as a manufacturer,” Matt said,” is that the LRE gets real people behind the wheel of their vehicles, and that we entertain as well as educate. Roger Crathorne wanted to teach the science of off-roading. As a program, we’re not selling the vehicles directly, but we’re providing outreach to new customers that will likely turn them into enthusiasts. The off-roading experience – understanding just what a Land Rover can do – should take care of the rest. As instructors, we’re 4×4 fanatics, with a particular appreciation for Land Rover’s Defender, Discovery and Range Rover models. Our instructional techniques set us apart.”
Sean Jones
“I saw my first Land Rover at a Stuckey’s at age 4,” Sean recalls. “I was thunderstruck!” Working later on a dairy farm in 1980, he remembers, “one worker had an 88” and another had a 109” – they ran circles around the farm’s Willys Jeep.” When not instructing, Sean Jones, Fairview, NC, owns and operates Blue Ridge Rover Works. Yet his marque enthusiasm might be best demonstrated by his 2,600 Land Rover model collection and his ’67 Series IIA,
purchased in 1984, with over 537,000 miles on it.
Fred Monsees
A veteran instructor at the LRE, Fred Monsees, Lexington, NC, closed up his long-time specialty shop in Howes Cave, NY, to join Southern Overland, Winston Salem, NC, as a technician. He serves as a veteran instructor at the LRE. A former Camel Trophy competitor (with Lea McGee, Siberia 1990), Fred worked as a trainer in subsequent Camel Trophy competitions and remains a member of the Land Rover Driving team. He has spent decades demonstrating Land Rover’s capabilities to journalists and the public alike. To Fred, “the coaching aspect of this job is the best. My thrill comes from seeing the light bulb go off as the owners realize what they’ve accomplished. If they’re new to off-roading, they can arrive intimidated as all get out by the trails; my task is to provide techniques and understanding to give them confidence. Above all else, teaching off-roading should be entertaining.” [At the recent training for the Defender Service Award winners (see Spring 2024 issue), Fred spent time instructing the Park City, UT, Youth Service Alliance team -ed.]
Ben Wooten
Ben Wooten, Asheville, NC, has served as a Land Rover Driving Team member and LRE Lead Instructor for nearly two decades. When the Defender Service Award trainings took place at the Biltmore [see Spring 2024 issue –ed.], Ben did double duty, instructing the media team invited to the event as well as the DSA winners.
Ben gained his off-roading experience through multiple vehicles “the hard way,” with no fancy recovery gear and mere paper maps, learning experientially “how to read the terrain and understand the physics of picking proper lines and of proper recovery.” His calm demeanor, combined with an engaging manner to present the physics of an obstacle, made for superb introductory training.
When he’s not training at the LRE or off with the Land Rover Driving Team, Ben and his family operate a bed and breakfast horse farm with off-road trails in Greenville, VA, in the state’s northwestern quarter.
Andy Allen
Andy, Asheville, NC, told me, “I pestered Matt and Sean about a job at the LRE Center for over a year. His Land Rover enthusiasm grew out of his three childhood years living in the Philippines. “My father bought a Discovery II, which I thought was the coolest thing on four wheels and made me the coolest kid in school.” Later, after relocating to North Carolina, Andy bought a Bonatti Grey Discovery II from Sean Jones. “I caught the Range Rover Classic bug through Sean, who told me of the Great Divide Expedition Range Rovers. I found an ’87 Classic that, from its numerous stickers, must have served as a prototype for the US Great Divide. It’s been cross country twice and is also my daily driver! It’s my inspiration when I teach owners about their vehicles.”
Rob Austin
After a career in law enforcement, Rob Austin, Asheville, NC, began instructing at the LRE in March, 2021. The North Carolina native draws from his off-road experience through traveling cross-country and overlanding on his motorcycle. He’s been a presence at customer events such as the Defender Trophy and dealer challenges such as TreK. As Rob spends considerable time in newer-generation Land Rover and Range Rover models, he’s still on the hunt for a heritage vehicle, leaning toward “a Discovery II or a Range Rover L322.”
Alastar Herbert
Alastar took a circuitous route to wind up at the Land Rover Experience Biltmore. A native of New Hartford, NY, near Vermont’s southwest corner, he started working outdoors at the New Hampshire Monadnock State Park near Jaffrey, where he joined Monadnock Search and Rescue. From there, Alastar headed west for outdoor jobs in Vermont. He earned his instructor credentials at the Land Rover Experience Manchester, VT, under the tutelage of manager David Nunn.
Alastar’s wife, Joella, works as a traveling nurse; when she received an assignment at a hospital in Asheville, they moved south and Alastar met LRE instructor Ben Wooten, who convinced him to consider a position at the Biltmore in 2022. “I enjoyed owning an ‘04 Discovery II in California,” Alastar recounted,” and I’ve always been a fan of the marque.” What he really enjoys is “the people I end up working with, as other instructors and as enthusiast Land Rover owners. This is a really happy environment in which to work – but I admit, it’s hard to call this ‘work.’”
Darren More
Darren has been a Senior Instructor at the LRE for 17 years, noting that he felt it took his first three years “to learn how to instruct. I believe that it’s all about physics” – matter, motion, energy. Understanding the working systems on your vehicle is the key to knowing how it will respond under various conditions and over different terrain.
The obstacles inherent in the design of the trails at the LRE Biltmore keep Darren’s work endlessly fascinating. There are mogul fields, gullies, ascents and descents, breakover points, wet/dry surfaces and more, built to demonstrate the capabilities engineered into each Land Rover model. As an instructor, Darren dives deep into the basics of steering and braking – when to engage and when to use a light touch. “When assessing an obstacle, we don’t always know whether we will make it or not, but we know the capabilities of our vehicle, so we start there.”
Ultimately, Darren reminded me, you need to tackle a challenge with vehicle sympathy in mind; you don’t want to have a breakdown in the field. “We’re coming at our instruction from the perspective of an expedition or with overlanding in mind.”
John Lord and Alexander Meyer
John Lord, Hendersonville, NC, enjoyed teaching at the Orvis Fly Fishing and Shooting School and watched the LRE school from afar. Darren More invited John to add to his outdoor experience by becoming an LRE Instructor. “I’ve been working under Darren closely,” John notes, “and have a lot of respect for his approach to teaching off-roading.”
Alexander Meyer, Norfolk, VA, owns a Defender 110 L663; after taking advantage of an LRE training, he decided he wanted to become an Instructor. Alexander makes the 6.5-hour, 400-mile drive to Asheville most every weekend and has achieved his Level 2 instructor status. He grew up with Land Rovers in his native England and is thrilled to share his enthusiasm with new marque aficionados.
Fortunately, two enthusiasts who had taken trainings the same day stopped by the LRE Office. I asked them for their thoughts on the day.
Carl von den Bussche, Franklin, TN, said, “I’d never had a Land Rover before and I’d always loved the Defender 110, ever since I saw one as a teenager. They were completely unique, the coolest. Land Rover has the cool, safari, adventure image that I liked. When we bought a ’20 Discovery Sport for my wife, Kristin, Land Rover made a training at the LRE Biltmore available to us. We all piled into our Defender 110, drove the four hours to Asheville and learned so much from the off-road instruction. I had no doubts, but I learned the incredible capabilities of our Defender. I’m not going to win any races, but I love driving it! It makes a short, daily trip to my office, and is great fun on the weekends. I must admit that I could see myself in a new Defender 90 one day.”
Wade Kirkland, Lebanon, TN, owns six Land Rovers: a ’16 LT4, ’93 NAS Defender 110, ’12 Range Rover, ’22 TReK Defender, ’21 Defender 110 and ’23 Range Rover Autobiography. He said, “I’ve learned so much about the vehicles, what they can and cannot do. Because of the trainings, I think differently about how I might approach driving off road. The instruction has been the key – I’ve learned so much about each model I own.”
Turning to the instructors present, Wade enthused, “I encourage every Land Rover owner to participate in an Owner’s Day. What you guys know, the passion and knowledge, is invaluable.”
[Visit experience.landroverusa.com/north-carolina/index.html to book an adventure at the Land Rover Experience North Carolina –ed.]