![New Land Rover now being used at Honour Ranch near Ashcroft](https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/1605/files/2024/05/land-rover.jpg)
“I’m on a high still after picking up this beautiful Land Rover Defender 130,” says Honour House Society President Al De Genova. “It is definitely going to be a game changer.”
The Society was the winner in its category at last year’s Defender Service Awards, which comes with a brand new, custom-equipped Land Rover Defender 130 that will now be on duty at the Honour Ranch. That eight passenger vehicle was officially unveiled Thursday.
De Gonova says it is going to be a great asset for the ranch to be able to move tools and resources around the ranch, tow its horse trailer, transport people between Kamloops and the ranch and more. He also notes that it is going to be a useful tool for the local fire department.
“Landrover in North America brought me down, along with Chief Tim Armstrong, our retired fire chief, to make sure that we were trained well enough to understand the capabilities of what this new vehicle can do. So then we can train our lead volunteer to then help train other volunteers so we can make sure we can maximize the abilities.”
A big part will be to be on standby for the Ashcroft volunteer fire department which is about 20 kilometers away.
“They can have access to this vehicle as well for spot fires and get you into some pretty difficult terrain. This water can take this vehicle can take water within some of the creeks fairly high. The ability by how it raises itself and the undercarriage skid plates and everything that they’ve modified this for us to get in some very difficult terrains and going down steep areas and rocky areas which we have around.”
“So it’s going to be able to pull a small tender for a big large pump that we have. When there’s water in the creek, we’re able to pump it. If for some reason our creeks are dry and there was a lightning strike, we’ll be able to tender enough water with us with this vehicle to help put out a spot fire before it becomes into something major.”
What is the Honour Ranch?
Located on 120 acres of rolling hills that overlook the South Thompson River, Honour Ranch is a tranquil retreat, a place of education and personal growth. Here, members of our Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans, Emergency Services Personnel, and their families can discover cutting edge strategies in the treatment of operational stress injuries including anxiety, depression, and PTSD. The goal: empower these heroes so they are better equipped to navigate the often debilitating emotional and physical stresses of selfless commitment to service.