Like many of the eventing fraternity. An Eventful Life spends much of our life on the road. However, while most eventers have four legged cargo transported in various levels of luxury from staggeringly big semi-trailers to humble horse boxes, our cargo is somewhat different
During the UK eventing season our weekly journey to events entails taking not only two people but also our ‘life on the road whilst out of Australia’ luggage, video equipment to film the cross country (30 cameras, tripods, batteries and other associated equipment), marketing materials (including pull up banners that seem to have a life of their own) and a TV.
Doesn’t everyone travel with a TV? It seems not and our B&B hosts around the country are at pains to point out that they have indeed provided a TV in the accommodation, until we explain that this rather large TV is to show our cross country videos at events. Although my husband Paul can seemingly live in the same pair of jeans for three weeks, I’ve explained in previous blogs about my complete inability to pack light so, as you can imagine, our ‘cross country season tour vehicle’ in the UK is positively crammed to the hilt each and every week as we hit the road
These are not short trips either. We cover thousands of miles, heading from the south of England (quite literally in the case of the South of England event) up to Scotland and lots of places in between. There are many miles on the motorway and plenty of interesting, often unplanned, journeys around the smaller by-ways of English country lanes. And then of course, we have the privilege of driving around many of the UK’s best cross country courses, proudly flying our white flag that pronounces us to be one of the lucky few allowed on course, as we set up the cameras and manically move them around during class changes
It goes without saying that you need certain things to run our mobile business and probably the most important is a sense of humour. Or so I thought until we spent four weeks driving a Land Rover Discovery
Fitting in perfectly at Firle Place - we just needed a dog in the back
Let’s address the elephant in the room straight away; we were provided with a Land Rover Discovery for a whole month courtesy of Land Rover. Yay!!!
The idea was that we got to put it through its paces during August, our busiest month in the UK, when we covered seven events in four weeks around the UK but it all started for me when I arrived at Heathrow airport on August 10th having flown overnight from the Rio Olympics.
Paul was there to meet me in our very new blue Land Rover Discovery, still learning what all the knobs are for, especially the circular gear selector which never failed to raise a smile from him as it rose from the centre console. I just sank gratefully into the leather seat which seemed to ooze ‘first class’ after 10 hours in an economy airline seat; four weeks later I was still getting that feeling each time I got into it.
We both loved the seats in this car and those who spend many hours driving will know how important this is. Neither of us suffered back ache after long drives and, joy of joys, there was also a seat warmer. By the way, for anyone looking for a technical review of the Land Rover Discovery 4, you are asking the wrong girl. I’m sure there are lots of amazing ergonomic features explained in the many Land Rover Discovery reviews but for me, seat warmers are important
Our first stop was a new event on the calendar at Horseheath in Cambridgeshire and, with everything easily stowed away in the huge space (“That all fitted remarkably well, maybe we’ve forgotten something?”), off we went to set up on the Friday evening. Hallelujah! The drop down tailgate made getting the tripods in and out a breeze and provided the perfect space to check out the cameras and do paperwork. Tailgates may be all the go for picnics at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials but for us they meant a faster set up and less chance of damaging equipment
From Horseheath we headed to Shelford in Nottinghamshire - the home of Stuart and Anna Buntine’s Bede Events, one of the busiest eventing organisers in England, for a quick mid-week event. At Shelford we started to wonder if Land Rover had actually given everyone a Discovery for the month there were so many on the course but no, it turns out that jump judges just love them
The Discovery also looked the part at Firle Place Horse Trials where the dog show is also as big as the eventing competition. I was pining for my own golden retriever Pedro back in Australia who would have just loved living in the back of this big blue car and I think we could even have fitted him in
The next stop was one of the highlights of our season and also one of the reasons we specifically needed a very capable 4-wheel drive car for August – we were headed to Blair Castle in the highlands of Scotland. This is one of the hilliest cross country courses you will find in the world and, although incredibly scenic, was always going to be a challenge for us in terms of getting the filming equipment around the course.
In 2015 the rain had been torrential on cross country day at the FEI European Championships and we knew that, should the same occur, our job would be almost impossible without the right vehicle. As it turned out we were lucky, the weather was fine but we still had some fun putting the Discovery through its paces - check out how to go down steep, gravelly hills with the Discovery doing all the work!
From one big B to another – the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials and of course the Discovery had to come along to its spiritual home in Stamford for at least a day. Before heading back to the north to film that weekend at Richmond Horse Trials, Paul dropped me off at Burghley where I spent the week covering my favourite event of the year.
I may have been deprived of my own Land Rover Discovery but had an excellent opportunity to fulfil my passion for leather seats and unusual driving angles as a guest at the Land Rover Experience - you can find out more about that fun, and why journalists should always wear a seat belt, here
Once reunited with my favourite travelling companion (and my husband) it was time for our last event in the Discovery and it was another big one – Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials. Somehow it seems fitting to rock up to events at palaces and stately homes in a Land Rover – they may be gutsy work horses that get the job done whatever the ground conditions but they also give you that undeniably smug feeling of belonging.
While we had been amazingly lucky with the weather for most of the month, the conditions at Blenheim proved to be a little more trying and we finally got the Discovery really dirty!
As you can imagine it was quite heart wrenching to end our Discovery tour and say goodbye to the car that had so easily become part of our eventing essentials. It met the requirements for the three phases of our job just like a perfect eventing horse; incredibly stylish and head turning when you need it to look good, digs in deep and comes up with the goods on cross country and is always ready to go the next day.
We couldn’t have asked for more but it was bye-bye to the heated seats, lovely sun roof, huge space and easy access for the equipment, comfortable driving on long and short trips (even my 87 year old mother loved it when I took her shopping, finding it easier to get in and out of compared to low slung cars), knowing that we could get around on cross country courses whatever the ground conditions, brilliant headlights and of course, feeling as if you a member of the equestrian aristocracy
So, Land Rover, I hear there is a new Discovery coming out in 2017 ......... maybe it needs to be tested under rigorous eventing tour conditions?
