And along with Keith Hart, Geoff Farmer, Mac McClaren and Ian Shacklock I've enjoyed teaching people to handle their vehicles off-road. To observe a lady or gentleman start off driving cautiously and in some cases as a 'bag of nerves' through to seeing them gain confidence under our instruction and eventually to driving superbly well being in the right gear, travelling at the right speed, tackling our obstacles and natural terrain with great aplomb has given me a huge amount of satisfaction.

During the whole of the Nineties between us at the Centre, we ran special 'Secret Wales' events for small groups every few weeks giving them the opportunity to put all their newly learnt skills into practice. These were very successful indeed and many lifelong friends have been made.

Stemming from these many groups a further 'following' of dedicated off-road enthusiasts regularly got together to form what became known as the 'Muddy Buddies'. It was these ten or so years that brought together my portfolio of proper much needed off-road equipment and dedicated specially designed winch systems.

It was during these many years spent in the mountains of Wales that provided me with the many photo opportunities that accompanied my years of writing for the Land Rover magazines. And indeed fills me with enthusiasm to help illustrate the following series of articles.

We also used to run from time to time our two day 'Trophy Training' events in the huge woodlands near to us in Devon. They were fun too, with massive helpings of winching opportunities, which again provided the fuel for my zest in dreaming up the ideal winch design.

Over the years our courses have developed to dare I say it, a very professional school which includes a great number of 'Train the Trainer' Instructor courses.

Another enjoyable event to look forward to each year has been the BILLING Land Rover 3 day family show and off-road event. It really is quite hard work in preparing for this once a year pilgrimage to Northampton as it's nearly 500 miles return. And when you are taking the PA unit - the Superwinch hospitality suite, marquee, arena displays and a caravan, never mind stock for sale, it all adds up to one hell of a lot of arranging!

But what an event! I've watched this event grow in size from small beginnings in the late eighties when Richard Green, John Cornwall and Richard Thomas thought it would be a 'good idea' to provide a family weekend for their magazine readers, advertisers and Clubs within the scene.
From a small field at the Billing Aquadrome it has grown to be the World's premier Land Rover event with incredible support from those that enjoy and make a living from the world of Land Rovers.

Index [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

(c)Goodwinch Limited 2006