Jenna and Liza fittingly met each other at the Land Rover 4x4xFar festival in 2020. Our husbands started a Land Rover podcast during the pandemic (still going strong with over 240 episodes!), and we got to know each other remotely during the “zoom years”. When Liza decided to sign up for a Rebelle U training in 2022, she texted Jenna and invited her along without a moment’s hesitation. In true Jenna fashion, by the end of the day, she had a flight booked, with few questions asked. The first day of Rebelle U, we got to know each other, and immediately felt that we had great chemistry and compatibility in the car. This kicked off what has become a phenomenal friendship, and has taken us all over the country together driving Land Rovers new and old, always on the lookout for the next adventure. We have become brand ambassadors, ANARC Trail Stewards, and future Dakar Classic Competitors, always with the incredible support of the Land Rover enthusiast community around the globe.
Sarek Autowerke, MAXXIS, Full Sail University, Modpro.ai, Saltek, Alegria, ANARC, Pangolin 4×4, Campfire Collaborative, Underpowered Hour, Luxefly Basecamp, eBay Motors.
I am the Vice President of Teacher Training Operations for Pilates Addiction, a national fitness franchise company. I have been teaching pilates for 10 years, and earlier this year, I was given the opportunity to take my skills as a teacher trainer national with the fastest growing pilates franchise in the country.
Valencia Ca
National Theatre School of Canada, Technical Theatre
"Would you like an adventure now, or shall we have our tea first?" — Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
I went to Space Camp as a kid, and I’m still close friends with one of the campers I met there. We reconnected after 20+ years, and it turned out we live less than 2 miles from each other, and our kids are the same age!
I read about it in Rover’s Magazine after the first year. My husband passed me the magazine, and said “this is cool, you should do this”. Immediately, I was enticed by the challenge. I had no idea how to navigate or orienteer- could I learn? Was it possible to do this? Well, at the time, I had a 1 year old at home, and it seemed a long ways off from something I thought I could do. But I followed the rally every year, and my desire to do it kept growing and growing. In 2019, at my 37th birthday, my best friend asked me what I wanted to accomplish before I turned 40. I said “Finish the Rebelle Rally”. Fast forward to 2022, and I decided I needed to finally take steps to make this happen. So I signed up for a Rebelle U training, called my acquaintance Jenna, and told her she should come to the training with me. We were promoted off the waiting list for 2022, and had five months to prepare for our first rally. This is now our fourth consecutive Rebelle, and to say that we are hooked is an understatement. For me, the Rebelle is the ultimate challenge. You can think you know who you are when you’re in your comfort zone- sleeping in your own bed, driving to school or work every day, a level of comfort and consistency. But the Rebelle takes you WAY outside your comfort zone, and asks you to face your fears and get uncomfortable and puts you through extreme mental and physical challenges. Its on the edge of that discomfort that you grow and become a better human, and I am so privileged to get to experience the Rebelle (and more than once, at that!!!).
My 11 year old daughter Cooper. She is just the coolest kid in the whole world, and I live my life trying to set the example for her of chasing your dreams, pursuing your passions, and never apologizing for being the best version of yourself. She can't wait to be old enough to do the Rebelle with me.
Books: This is How You Lose the Time War, A Brief History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Podcast: Underpowered Hour.
Can I say the Rebelle Rally? Every year, I come home with so many stories, and feeling like I’ve just gone through this incredible metamorphosis.
2022, 2023, 2024
Jenna and I are both the kind of people that want to excel at anything we take on. We are both competitive, driven people, and its always our goal to go out there and do our very best for us each rally. We never know what kind of crazy the rally will throw at us, its our goal to take the challenges as they come, and strive to rise above as best as we can. We have so much respect for the incredible depth of the competitive field, so while we are not delusional in thinking we could win it all, we strive to get as many points and to perform the very best that we possibly can to make our families, supporters, and sponsors proud.
Have you heard of curling? The sport you see every four years in the Olympics? Its the one with the ice, and the sweeping, and the stones, and the yelling… Yeah! That one! I am an avid curler, and sometimes curl competitively, but mostly for fun. I travel all around North America for curling (and occasionally Europe), and I adore the sport and the people I’ve met through curling. I’m also a fairly avid quilter, though I must admit that I’ve spent a lot less time in my quilting room and a lot more time in the dirt since becoming a Rebelle last year. I learned everything I know about quilting through YouTube, and it was a lifeline for me during the pandemic. I’m also an avid fiction reader, and love listening to audio books in the car, or reading on my kindle while on vacation.
L: Other than being a life-long Land Rover enthusiast, I had very little experience until I began training for the Rebelle a few years ago. Since our first Rebelle, Jenna and I have become extremely active in the Land Rover community, attending numerous Land Rover centric events such as Destination Defender, club events in Oregon, California, Minnesota, Texas, New York, Arizona, Utah, and more. Earlier this year, Jenna and I became trail stewards with the Association of North American Rover Clubs. The Rebelle took us from enthusiast to competitor, and we love the way it helps hone our skills, as we set our sites on some huge new challenges; most notably, we have committed to doing Dakar Classic in 2027!
I was a stage and production manager for 15 years, and produced live theatre as well as awards shows in Hollywood. I’ve competed in numerous curling tournaments (“bonspiels”) nationally and internationally. In 2023, I drove my Defender across Utah along with four of the original Range Rovers that competed in the 2003 G4 Challenge, recreating the route the original event took. In summer of 2023, my husband and I drove one of our classic Defenders across Scotland and England, and managed to attend the men’s Wimbledon final.
I adore the remote valleys and mountains in Nevada. The terrain around Twin Springs NV last year was incredible; to go days without every seeing another vehicle or human that isn’t part of the Rebelle crew is just incredible. I love how it changes every few kilometers into these incredible micro biomes, with different landscape features and diversity of plant life. And let’s face it, nothing beats a starry night sky on marathon nights, no matter where we are!
Probably letting it go when I make a mistake and let my teammate down. She has to remind me to throw it in the back seat, let it go, and keep moving forward, otherwise I can spiral down a rabbit hole of beating myself up.
I know its cliche, but the rally has seriously impacted every facet of my life. Not only has it given me a new identity as an amateur motorsports competitor, but it has opened doors and allowed me to meet the most incredible people. It has built confidence in my professional life that I never dreamed, allowing me to walk into contract negotiations with certainty in my work and my non-negotiables. (When I interviewed for my current position, I started the interview by telling them that I go off the grid for two weeks every October, and if they aren’t 100% okay with that, then let’s not even bother to continue with the interview!) It has given me an appreciation of how other people perform under stress, and to work with my team to face challenges head on and find a way through. It has completely changed my own self-identity and self-worth, and is a badge of honor I wear with pride. It is a privilege to call myself a Rebelle, and to keep coming back year after year to be with the incredible staff and fellow competitors that push me out of my comfort zone and remind me that you are never too old to keep learning and growing.
L: Last summer, Jenna and I had an amazing opportunity to drive Queen Elizabeth II’s ceremonial review vehicle, a 1954 Series One 86” Land Rover in the Tour d’Elegance at Pebble Beach, a 64 mile round trip scenic tour of the coast from Monterey to Big Sur and back. We also got to drive the vehicle onto the lawn at the Concours d’Elegance for “dawn patrol”, thanks to the team at Land Rover Classic Works and JLRNA. We had no idea it was a bucket list item until we got to do it, and what an incredible privilege it was.
I’m the co-founder/principal of an architecture & interior design firm in Springfield, Oregon. I’m proud to have built the business from scratch into what it is today - we are a small, women-owned firm but we are making a big impact in our community, most noticeably through downtown revitalization projects and initiatives.
Springfield, OR
University of Oregon - Architecture; Indiana University - Interior Design & Mathematics
"The difference between an ordeal and an adventure is attitude"
My husband and I own a 1963 Land Rover that was originally owned by actor Steve McQueen!
I’m very compelled by opportunities to learn new skills and tackle new challenges, especially when they involve adventuring in nature. When Liza shared her interest in the Rebelle a few years ago, I researched it and found myself casually scheming on what I would want to drive if I were to participate. The intrigue lingered, but I didn’t really commit to the idea until Liza signed up for training camp three years ago, and then I was like “oh yeah, I better join for that!” We both went into the training camp with the intent of testing the waters to see if this is something that would actually be fun for us, and whether we would be compatible partners. By the end of the first day we were completely on-board and were thankful to make it off the waitlist and compete in the 2022 event. It. Was. Awesome. We’ve now competed 3 times, and we can’t wait to do it again!
That feeling of being on an epic adventure where you have stepped away from your daily life/routine/headspace and are able to simply focus on the task at hand, even when you’re tired and sore, but priorities are simple and you just keep pushing while also being blissfully present and appreciative of where you are and how amazing it is to have such an opportunity.
The Underpowered Hour Podcast, The Princess Bride, On Any Sunday
I am lucky to have adventurous friends with whom I have shared some pretty epic experiences. It’s hard to choose one experience as the “greatest” adventure, though the Rebelle is up there at the top of my list. I would say that generally the greatest adventures are the ones that involve some level of “misadventure” along the way. When things don’t necessarily go as planned, and there is an unexpected obstacle that has to be addressed, it is all the more satisfying when you overcome the challenge and can continue the journey. It’s the misadventures that are a true test of character. Plus, these make the most interesting stories :)
2022, 2023, 2024
Going into our 4th year of Rebelle, we do want to be competitive, but not at the expense of enjoying the experience. The perfect day is one where we take the calculated risk of opting into all of the fun and scenic trail options - while striking the balance of accuracy and quick decision making as we collect checkpoints - and everything just clicks. So, our aim is to have as many of those kinds of days as possible, while also being resilient and adaptable when the day doesn’t go as planned.
I’m easily talked into joining for wacky adventures and activities - I love sharing an epic experience with a good friend, and I particularly thrive in endurance events (slow paced, long distance). Some of these experiences include ultramarathon trail running, skydiving, a full-length Ironman triathlon, nighttime SCUBA diving, and league bowling (no, I’m not great at bowling)….oh, and also competing in the Rebelle Rally! :)I would also call myself an amateur historian - you can send me down the deepest of rabbit holes with an interesting historical tidbit; I will spend dozens of hours researching to uncover the more of the story and/or puzzle it out; the topic could be a specific building/place, or person, or a noteworthy vehicle, or really anything that triggers my compulsion :)
Everyday is a bit of an adventure when you daily drive a 60+ year-old vehicle, but prior to the Rebelle I didn’t have any competitive motorsports experience. My husband and I have been driving, maintaining, and adventuring in 1950’s-1960’s era Land Rovers since we met in high school, and we have travelled globally thanks to the amazing camaraderie and resourcefulness of the Land Rover community around the world. There’s an unspoken bond and collective spirit among this group of enthusiasts, with a balance of adventure, stewardship, and creative problem solving. This shapes our approach to Rebelle as we tend to bond with other teams along the way - not that we aren’t competitive, but we are often stronger when we mutually support each other, and it’s more fun when it’s a shared experience. And that’s why we’re out there, right? To have fun and enjoy the amazing scenery…and collect some checkpoints along the way!
I’m lucky to live in the Pacific Northwest where we have a lot of opportunities for cool experiences nearby. We regularly go adventuring in our old Land Rovers, exploring forest roads through the mountains, finding cool waterfalls and historic mines, camping on the beach, or just finding solitude and good views. We also take annual desert adventures through Death Valley & Baja, and have traveled internationally through Argentina, Australia, & South Africa - by vintage Land Rover, of course. I also really like dual-sport/off-road motorcycling, but I’m still building my skills. A couple years ago we rode the ~100 mile White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park, near Moab, and it was tough (for me) but amazing. I’ve also gone skydiving twice, completed a full-length Ironman triathlon, and completed two 100-mile trail runs and numerous other endurance running events.
Ooh that’s a tough decision… I love the desert, it compels me. But I also love a good forest trail. And of course mountaintop views are spectacular. And then there’s the dunes…what a surreal and special landscape. Since clearly I'm not going to decide on a favorite, I'll answer this in a different way. My favorite places along the course are generally ones where we have shared a special moment, whether because the trail to get there was complicated or especially scenic, or where we successfully triangulated a tricky black checkpoint, or perhaps we shared a snack with another team at a great vista. It’s those experiences that you take home with you.
The toughest days are the ones where the process just doesn’t feel fluid, and it seems like we are stumbling over our choices. We just have to throw it in the backseat and find a way to reset, whether that means taking a snack break, having a pep talk, or just “going for a drive” to get our bearings. The other difficult thing about the rally is actually returning to the “real world”... the post-rally blues are a real thing.
Rebelle has helped me overcome my “I need to do everything myself” complex. To succeed in the rally, you have to put your full trust in your teammate to complete their tasks, while you complete your tasks, with the understanding that it’s okay to ask each other for help as needed. There is not enough time for one teammate to do both jobs. This has really helped me in my professional life as a business owner, to be able to delegate tasks to my staff/colleagues and trust their capabilities and commitment to the project. This is a skill that I know that I need in order to be more effective in life.
Last summer, Liza and I had an amazing opportunity to drive Queen Elizabeth II’s ceremonial review vehicle, a 1954 Series One 86” Land Rover in the Tour d’Elegance at Pebble Beach, a 64 mile round trip scenic tour of the coast from Monterey to Big Sur and back. We also got to drive the vehicle onto the lawn at the Concours d’Elegance for “dawn patrol”, thanks to the team at Land Rover Classic Works and JLRNA. We had no idea it was a bucket list item until we got to do it, and what an incredible privilege it was.
