Sarek Autowerke of Richmond, VA. was a proud sponsor of the Rover Owners Association of Virginia Mid-Atlantic Rally which was just held in Buckingham County, Virginia. The rally took place at the Little George Rod and Gun Club in Aronia, VA. The original Land Rover Owners Club was founded in 1954 by The Rover Company in the United Kingdom. This led to the publishing of the Land Rover Owners Club review magazine until 1968 when it became the ROA or Rover Owners Association. The ROA of Virginia is the oldest Land Rover club in North America. Surprisingly, it was founded right here in Richmond Virginia in 1975. The ROAV has annual dues of only $20. It holds driving and social events throughout the year. The Land Rover Mid-Atlantic October 2022 Rally was sold out in just three days.
No Boring Downtime At This Rally
The successful event was limited to the first 160 registered vehicles. The team of event organizers strived to make the event at The Little George Rod and Gun Club (formerly Pearl’s Pond) one that suited the landowners and the club members alike. Just as in the past, the Rally offered a full and varied schedule of events. Club members enjoyed daily trail rides, blind man obstacle courses, scavenger hunts, games, prizes and to top it off a scrumptious chicken dinner on Saturday night. The beautiful, wooded location offered primitive camping, tent and camper sites. See photos of the Blindfold Race at roav_1975 on Instagram. The post shows the Land Rover driver blindfolded while receiving directions to navigate through cones on an off-road course.
The fun began on Thursday with on-site registration. On-site registration continued Friday with a driver meeting, trail rides and scavenger hunts. Friday night at the Main Pavilion included a Bluegrass Band that was sponsored by Land Rover of Richmond. The Little George Rod and Gun Club is on Pearl's Pond Farm. This Virginia farm is almost 1,000 acres that includes two miles on the James River. The Aronia, VA location is just 44 miles from Monticello and 35 miles from Walton's Mountain Museum in Schuyler, VA. There is also a winery at Hardware Hills just a short 26-mile journey.
Mid-Atlantic Rally Fun Facts
Land Rover owners have a long history of pride of ownership and fellowship with other owners. An early Mid Atlantic Rally was at Penland Farm in Buckingham County, VA in 1994. Draft horses and Land Rovers demonstrated log pulling. And of course, there was a BBQ dinner. In addition, in 1996, a local Drive-In theater was rented, and 85 Land Rovers filled it up to celebrate their pride of owning a Land Rover. Eventually in 1999 the MAR was moved to Pearl's Pond where a Marching Bagpipe Band played while members enjoyed a Single Malt Whiskey tasting. The Mid-Atlantic Land Rover Rally has survived and continues to grow through hurricanes, droughts and even pandemics. Photos of past rallies can be seen at roav.org/mar-history.
Queen Elizabeth II and Land Rovers-A Lifelong Happy Partnership
Land Rovers began in 1947 in Britain. They are the second oldest 4-wheel drive vehicle after the Jeep. The designer, Maurice Wilks debuted the Land Rover in Amsterdam in 1948 as a new type of go anywhere vehicle for the farmer, countryman, and just regular people. The Jeep was considered unreliable. So not surprisingly the Land Rover soon became favored by police, military and the Royal Family. Smartly, the Rover Company gifted a Land Rover to King George VI in 1948. It was the 100th production vehicle and it began the long running, still going strong Land Rover loving Royal Family. Notably, the Land Rover was granted a Royal Warrant by King George VI in 1951. This Royal Warrant permits a company to use the Royal Arms in a trade capacity. This shows the world that Land Rover supplies the Royal Family with vehicles. Then in 2001 it also received a Queen's Award for Enterprise for outstanding contribution to international trade by Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Elizabeth II was just 18 when she joined the British Woman's Branch of the Army. Elizabeth learned to drive and do mechanical work during World War II. Until her recent death, she owned and drove Land Rovers over her rough Scotland estate. Balmoral Castle Estate is over 50, 000 acres of rocks and hills and she relied on her Land Rover. In 1978 a special Land Rover Series 3 was built just for her with a "traffic light system". The Queen used the system to alert her driver to stop, slow down or continue while on her many tours. Check out a YouTube video (Queen Elizabeth II behind the wheel on the royal estate) chatting with hunters on her castle grounds in 1992.
Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Philip loved the freedom felt when driving Land Rovers. Elizabeth owned at least 30 Land Rovers over her 96 years. Her husband’s hearse was his favorite Land Rover. Prince Philip was 99-years-old when he died. He wanted no fuss made at his funeral. He asked that his casket be carried in his favorite Land Rover, and it was. The Prince selected the Land Rover Defender TD5 130 to bear his coffin. He had selected and had the Defender modified 18 years earlier in preparation of his death. Prince Philip just as Queen Elizabeth appreciated Land Rovers and made their admiration known.
Sarek Autowerke and Land Rover Trail Performance
Like Queen Elizabeth II, Sarek Autowerke also appreciates Land Rovers. Sarek Autowerke was a Gold Sponsor and has photos of the October 2022 Mid-Atlantic rally at sarek_autowerke on Instagram and on the Facebook site Sarek Autowerke Inc.. Sarek Autowerke's mission is to always exceed the standards of quality, attention to detail and depth of product knowledge our clients expect. Our state of the art modern 12, 500 square foot facility is exclusively dedicated to service, diagnosis and repair of Land Rover, BMW and MINI vehicles. Not just anyone can work on your prized Land Rover. We provide experienced premium service backed by extensive training. Along with maintenance and repairs, we will update your 90 and 110 Land Rover with our custom fabricated aluminum armor system, so you'll be able to enjoy all the Land Rover Rally fun events. Rest assured and check out our outstanding customer reviews too at Sarek Autowerke. Text "Sarek" to 804-292-2931 for information. We'd be happy to help.