Defender West Returns to California for a Weekend of Adventure in Temecula Wine Country
Bold adventure and refined comforts have long defined the original British adventure marque, and both were on full display at the 2025 Destination Defender West. The second West Coast gathering of its kind—building on last year’s debut at Calamigos Ranch—the event marked a confident evolution of the brand’s weekend-long outdoor adventure festival and community gathering. Set against the rolling hills of Temecula wine-country at Galway Downs Equestrian Center, the weekend rewarded with off-road challenges, forums, culinary experiences, historic vehicle displays, live music, and announcement of the 2025 Defender Service Award winners.
“This event authentically represents the ethos of the Defender brand, celebrating its adventurous and purpose-driven spirit for enthusiasts to be immersed in,” shared Sam Allen, U.S. Brand Director for Defender—a fitting sentiment for a weekend that balanced grit with indulgence, nostalgia with innovation, and community with capability. Attendance was comparable to last year’s debut in Malibu but less like a sequel, the 2025 edition also felt more like an assured step in Defender’s expanding West Coast identity.
Off-Roading and Outdoor Adventure
Two distinct off-road experiences at Galway Downs put drivers through their paces. One, a curated route through the rolling hills, showcased how effortlessly the Defender settles into open terrain. The other—a technical gauntlet of rock gardens, sharp inclines, and water crossings—demanded focus, finesse, and a willingness to get a little muddy, revealing the engineering mastery that has defined Defender for more than 75 years.
Beyond the off-road courses, outdoor activities—from mountain biking demos and axe throwing to SurFlow Yoga sessions—reflected the breadth of the Defender lifestyle. Hands-on drone photography classes taught new ways to capture adventure. But for the mechanically minded (and young at heart), the Traxxas RC off-road circuit brought a playful competitiveness to the weekend, and equestrian demonstrations from USEF riders, including Olympic rider Tamie Smith, paid homage to Galway Downs’ equine heritage.
Culture, Community & the Defender Ethos
While off-roading dominated daylight hours, culture came alive after dark. The event’s most anticipated performance—Grammy-nominated band KALEO—lit up the main stage Saturday night with an electric set. Earlier in the day, live culinary demonstrations showcased California ingredients, while intimate forum talks explored topics ranging from engineering to exploration.
For vintage Landy fans, the Great Expeditions display—a collection of historic Land Rover models that once graced the lawns of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance—highlighted the brand’s deep-rooted spirit of real-world adventure and its long-standing role in global exploration.
Among them, “Pollyanna,” the 1950 Series I that Australian-British adventure traveler Barbara Toy drove solo from London to Baghdad during her global circumnavigation, and “Oxford,” the storied survivor of the 1955–56 Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition.
2025 Defender Service Awards
Saturday was reserved for the fifth Defender Service Awards ceremony—an annual tradition that honors charitable organizations across the U.S. and Canada whose work reflects Defender’s longstanding commitment to service. Selected through a nationwide public vote, this year’s six winning organizations represent the very best of what it means to serve others embodying the Defender brand’s legacy of humanitarian efforts.
The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society was recognized for its conservation work supporting injured and stranded ocean wildlife, while Jason’s Box in Kentucky earned honors for its support of veterans and civil servants. Feeding Northeast Florida was celebrated for its efforts to combat food insecurity across the Jacksonville region, and Chilliwack Search & Rescue in British Columbia was acknowledged for its lifesaving emergency response operations in challenging terrain.
Rounding out the honorees, Starlight Children’s Foundation Canada was awarded for expanding outdoor accessibility and education for young people, and West Place Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island received the Defender Service Awards Honoree designation for animal welfare. Each organization received a customized Defender 130—tailored to meet the demands of its mission—along with $30,000 in funding. Additional contributions from partners, including Chase, Artemis, Disney, Pelican, ei3, Outside Inc., and S&P Global Mobility, brought total prize funding this year to $390,000
A Glimpse Toward Dakar 2026
The weekend’s forward-looking energy came into focus during a panel conversation with world-class American rally driver Sara Price, who spoke candidly about her role with the Defender Rally Team and what it takes to prepare for the most unforgiving desert race on Earth. A former motocross champion and four-time Dakar stage winner, Price will take the wheel of the Defender Dakar D7X-R in January 2026—a race-prepared evolution of the production Defender OCTA that will compete in the rally’s Stock category. Price made her Dakar debut in 2024, becoming the first American woman—and only the third woman ever—to win a stage. She finished fourth overall and earned Rookie of the Year, a meteoric introduction to rally-raid competition. Poised to help shape Defender’s first works entry into the Dakar Rally, her behind-the-scenes discussion underscored that the brand’s next great adventure is already well underway. landroverusa.com/defender
All photos courtesy of JLR North America
