British Team Behind Land Rover Steering Wheels at WEG…But on the Wrong Side of the Road

Look

Look out! They’ll be on the wrong side of the road!

I suppose it is great news that Land Rover has launched a new three-year sponsorship of the British Equestrian Team. The contract begins immediately, with a fleet of 10 Discoveries waiting for the team when they arrived this week in Kentucky.

I just wish this announcement included the news that they had hired American drivers for the cars, too. When chef d?equipe Yogi Breisner jokes about driving the entire eventing team from the hotel to the Horse Park (which is a distance of five to ten miles or more, depending on the hotel), I start to twitch, knowing that I may be on the same road at the same time. While the Brits are used to driving Land Rovers, they are also used to driving on the left–not on the right–side of the road.

So, here’s my advice. Surely Lexington will be full of Land Rovers during the Games but when you see one coming, jump out of the way because it might be the British. And give a big wave. If Land Rover is clever, they will have marked these cars with large Union Jacks.

On reading the British Equestrian Federation press release, I learned that the Discovery (called the LR here) has a diesel engine in the UK, and gets more than 30 miles to a gallon. I don’t think that’s available in the USA, or am I mistaken?

Land Rover is also the official vehicle of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and the exclusive sponsor of the U.S. Eventing Team for 2010.

I wonder if Land Rover would like to sponsor a blogger…

Land Rover?s association with British horse sports has included some fun projects like this elaborate cross-county obstacle a few years ago at Gatcombe Park (British Festival of Eventing). What would your horse do if you asked him to gallop under that arch and jump over a two-tiered skinny at the same time?

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