Eventing Nation booted from covering Event in Unionville, PA

[enjoytheride]

@Sticky Situation

If anything makes him look like a ‘racist’ it’s his response to the whole situation.

I don’t fault him for having a property with the word ‘plantation’ in it, especially given that the name came about 80 years ago and had nothing to do with slavery.

And honestly, if he feels strongly about keeping the name for historical reasons or whatever, even just making a statement acknowledging the concerns and explaining the origin of the name might help.

Responding with “You calling me racist? Get off my lawn!” is the one thing that does make him look like a racially tone-deaf old rich white dude.

Not really. Land owner is a thankless job and we’ve been privileged for years to compete on his property. EN addressed the name change with a hammer instead of a handshake. The landowner was accused, and is still being accused of being a racist,it shouldn’t be a shock that they left. EN was not interested in any way in having a conversation with a land owner who probably up into right now had no idea his farm name upset certain people. EN got exactly what it deserved, the death of a long running event.

I believe with my heart that the owners of Plantation Fields would have been open to a conversation in a different setting, instead a divide has been created which cannot be repaired. The sport of eventing and people of color have lost.

Anybody on this page celebrating the death of this event don’t deserve to be called eventers. Eventing has far been the most inclusive horse sport I’ve ever participated in, and we are better than this. I think that some people are more interested in the death of eventing than anything else and this is just a convenient thing that happened.

[B_and_B]

@enjoytheride

Not really. Land owner is a thankless job and we’ve been privileged for years to compete on his property. EN addressed the name change with a hammer instead of a handshake. The landowner was accused, and is still being accused of being a racist,it shouldn’t be a shock that they left. EN was not interested in any way in having a conversation with a land owner who probably up into right now had no idea his farm name upset certain people. EN got exactly what it deserved, the death of a long running event.

I believe with my heart that the owners of Plantation Fields would have been open to a conversation in a different setting, instead a divide has been created which cannot be repaired. The sport of eventing and people of color have lost.

Anybody on this page celebrating the death of this event don’t deserve to be called eventers. Eventing has far been the most inclusive horse sport I’ve ever participated in, and we are better than this. I think that some people are more interested in the death of eventing than anything else and this is just a convenient thing that happened.

This. A thousand times. In any other year, EN’s hammer might not have been perceived as a call to violence, but this year, this summer? It is.

[Sticky_Situation]

@enjoytheride

Not really. Land owner is a thankless job and we’ve been privileged for years to compete on his property. EN addressed the name change with a hammer instead of a handshake. The landowner was accused, and is still being accused of being a racist,it shouldn’t be a shock that they left. EN was not interested in any way in having a conversation with a land owner who probably up into right now had no idea his farm name upset certain people. EN got exactly what it deserved, the death of a long running event.

I believe with my heart that the owners of Plantation Fields would have been open to a conversation in a different setting, instead a divide has been created which cannot be repaired. The sport of eventing and people of color have lost.

Anybody on this page celebrating the death of this event don’t deserve to be called eventers. Eventing has far been the most inclusive horse sport I’ve ever participated in, and we are better than this. I think that some people are more interested in the death of eventing than anything else and this is just a convenient thing that happened.

I’m not celebrating the loss of the event, and I’m well aware that our sport is at the mercy of generous landowners. But having read the EN piece, I also saw that at no point did they accuse the landowner or organizers of being racists. There’s an important difference between saying “John Doe is a racist” and saying “the name of the event might be unintentionally offensive to some people.”

I’m not personally offended by the name. And I honestly don’t believe it’s necessary to remove every word or name that might have a negative connotation to some people from our language. But I also realize that I’m a white woman from the North, and if black riders are saying that the name “Plantation Field” bothers them, it isn’t my place to say they’re wrong, and maybe at least having a discussion about it could help make equestrian sports more welcoming.

The owner’s response to the situation, IMO, crosses into “methinks he doth protest too much” territory. Of course nobody wants to be the center of this sort of controversy. But with him saying “how dare you! We’re done!” rather than having even an ounce of introspection (even if he ultimately decided not to change the name) he comes across as completely dismissive of the concerns that black people might have.

[Marigold]

@TooManyBays

It’s a private property. I’d be all on board if we were talking about a park or a monument or something, but it’s not; it’s private.

If the land owner wants to name it ‘Plantation that had slaves field’ or ‘slave acres’ or anything else slightly offensive, it’s his prerogative to do so. We can’t stop him. All we can do is wonder what stick got up his bum.
It’s a free country, and if I want to name my farm ‘FU all stables’ I certainly can!

Sure you can. But it doesn’t mean EN has to print that name on their blog. That’s all they were ever trying to say.

[rah]

This has been another nauseating read… some of you don’t fool around. I thought some of the h/j crowd were racist but dang, you make them look like amateurs. Just goes to show how far we have to go in the horse community, let alone the country when is comes to racial issues. I personally feel it’s worse when you add the element of privilege in to a white privileged issue.
BTW, white supremacy is only going to be solved by white people so some of you better get used to a bunch of ‘woke’ white people calling you out on your racism.

[Synthesis]

@Jealoushe

An event is not more important than making our sport inclusive to me. Sorry you don’t share that opinion. I feel like it all makes a lot of sense now why hardly anyone cares when riders and horses are killed.

Eventers = Events first, humanity second.

And its a distant 2nd at that.
I learned this the hard way last year when Equestrian Canada and the Eventing Committee demonstrated that they firmly believed that Eventing was exempt from the EC inclusiveness rules. Eventing is very welcoming until one shows ‘weakness’ (injury accomodation, pre-existing condition, need for compensating aids) and then wants nothing to do with you. More than one person will remember the 12 yo girl with vision impairment that was booted out of the sport until mom hired a lawyer to file a discrimination lawsuit. I was fighting a similar battle at the time and treated equally poorly.

As long as you don’t admit there’s a problem, the sport is fine with you. Acknowledging problems or identifying them in eventing makes you a target. I’ve seen behind the curtain and there is zero interest in inclusiveness whether for PoC or for those with physical impairments.

[JenEM]

@Horsegirl's Mom

You are illustrating the very error that lies behind all this. (As I recall, you are not American, so perhaps it is excusable). Plantation is used in many places that have never had any connection to slavery. Perhaps you are unaware that Massachusetts (home of Plimoth Plantation) and Rhode Island (Providence Plantation) were not slave states. (Neither was Pennsylvania, of course). The word has long referred simply to large expanses of cultivated land.

American history is a fascinating thing, and you can learn so much unexpected information from studying it. Massachusetts absolutely had slavery past the founding of the nation, though it was not a “slave state” the way those in what became the Confederacy were. The same goes for Pennsylvania. Rhode Island also had slavery in colonial times.

Words have meaning and power, and those meanings and powers can and do change over time. Language is fluid. History and events can give words power and meaning related to them, in ways beyond the dictionary definitions. “Plantation,” in spite of valid alternative definitions, calls to mind a very specific thing for the majority of Americans, regardless of how the word was intended or originally meant, because of the weight of our cultural history.

Without context, I asked the SO, who was born and raised in New England and went to Plimouth on elementary school field trips, what comes to mind when he hears the words “plantation field.” His answer? “Slaves in overalls picking cotton.” I would imagine that’s exactly what it calls to mind for most people, and why it gives one pause. To think otherwise is disingenuous.

[B_and_B]

@Sticky Situation

The owner’s response to the situation, IMO, crosses into “methinks he doth protest too much” territory. Of course nobody wants to be the center of this sort of controversy. But with him saying “how dare you! We’re done!” rather than having even an ounce of introspection (even if he ultimately decided not to change the name) he comes across as completely dismissive of the concerns that black people might have.

‘nobody wants to be the center of this sort of controversy’ If I was the landowner my concern would be that this controversy has become violent in 2020. He might be racist, he might also be scared. This is a violent argument, not here in the horse world, not yet. But it could be. I first hit this bit of news on a news crawler that trawls the internet and it is already way beyond the horse world, I never expected to see an Eventing article on that crawler! Both hard right and hard left are aware of it, I can easily see how it could turn into the next protest site. EN must have been aware of that potential: ‘sow the wind and you reap the whirlwind’.

[Horsegirl_s_Mom]

@JenEM

American history is a fascinating thing, and you can learn so much unexpected information from studying it. Massachusetts absolutely had slavery past the founding of the nation, though it was not a “slave state” the way those in what became the Confederacy were. The same goes for Pennsylvania. Rhode Island also had slavery in colonial times.

Are you claiming that Plimoth Plantation and Providence Plantation were called “plantations” to denote the use of slave labor?

If not, your point is irrelevant. Maybe there were people in Massachusetts and Rhode Island who had slaves in colonial times, but that has nothing to do with the use of the word “plantation.”

[JenEM]

@Horsegirl's Mom

Are you claiming that Plimoth Plantation and Providence Plantation were called “plantations” to denote the use of slave labor?

If not, your point is irrelevant. Maybe there were people in Massachusetts and Rhode Island who had slaves in colonial times, but that has nothing to do with the use of the word “plantation.”

No, I’m rebutting your statement that:

Perhaps you are unaware that Massachusetts (home of Plimoth Plantation) and Rhode Island (Providence Plantation) were not slave states.

There was in fact slavery throughout early America. To pretend that’s not part of the entire nation’s history, or a part of it that is localized to what was once part of the Confederacy, is a fallacy.

[fordtraktor]

OMG people. It’s “Plymouth.” How can you argue historical expertise and repeatedly spell it wrong?

My Type A History major roots are showing…carry on.

[Horsegirl_s_Mom]

@fordtraktor

OMG people. It’s “Plymouth.” How can you argue historical expertise and repeatedly spell it wrong?

My Type A History major roots are showing…carry on.

Well, the plantation calls itself Plimoth Plantation. https://www.plimoth.org/

From the website:

CONTACT US

Plimoth Plantation
137 Warren Avenue
Plymouth, MA 02360
(508) 746-1622

The town is known as Plymouth.

[AffirmedHope]

So COTH just published an article about this with information from both EN and the event board. Sounds like there was a whole lot of knee jerk reactions and threats thrown around from everybody.

[riderboy]

@Jealoushe

It doesn’t matter if the locations had slaves or not, what matters is how the name makes people feel, in this case, a specific group of people.

Again, as I have already said several times, it is coming up now because POC and their allies against racism and oppression are finally getting a voice. As hard as you all want to trample that voice, it does exist. Similar to the #metoo movement, time is up.

Have any of you defending the land over read the article by today? I’m sharing it again, along with several other articles that show POC feel about our industry.

I know it is hard to let go of old idealogies and admit that maybe, just maybe your mindset is a bit too old school and out of date and that maybe you can do better. But you really really should try. For the goodness of humanity.

https://eventingnation.com/why-words-matter/

A link to all the posts EN has been working on regarding diversity: https://eventingnation.com/tag/diversity/

Feelings? That’s the Gold Standard now? Feelings? Well then, how do you think the Walkers felt about being called racists? How do you think all the competitors, both black and white, ‘feel’ about having a beautiful show taken away forever by a bunch of white imbeciles whose overreaching and bungling cost us this venue. Over what? No racism. No discrimination, no harassment, abuse or name calling (except the Walkers). This will kill the sport, a sport barely hanging on. Yes, we may have to destroy the sport to save it because someones feelings might get hurt. My first coach, now passed, was a 6’4" Pakistani Muslim named Nadeem Noon. Since then I’ve had coaches, instructors, friends and fellow competitors from every stripe of the rainbow. Not a single racist amongst them. I get to ride with professionals in some of my classes, big names. What other sport is that possible in? What other sport do men and women, black and white, old and young of every imaginable religion and nationality get to compete on equal footing? So, I dunno. Manufacture all the outrage you want. Virtue signal until you’re blue in the face. This is the most spectacularly stupid, unnecessary clusterf*ck I’ve seen in a long time.

[fordtraktor]

@Horsegirl's Mom

Well, the plantation calls itself Plimoth Plantation. https://www.plimoth.org/

From the website:

CONTACT US

Plimoth Plantation
137 Warren Avenue
Plymouth, MA 02360
(508) 746-1622

The town is known as Plymouth.

It was Plymouth Colony. That’s just a tourist attraction and isn’t even on the original site. The Plimouth Plantation website itself spells it “Plymouth” when referring to the Colony.

[enjoytheride]

@riderboy

Feelings? That’s the Gold Standard now? Feelings? Well then, how do you think the Walkers felt about being called racists? How do you think all the competitors, both black and white, ‘feel’ about having a beautiful show taken away forever by a bunch of white imbeciles whose overreaching and bungling cost us this venue. Over what? No racism. No discrimination, no harassment, abuse or name calling (except the Walkers). This will kill the sport, a sport barely hanging on. Yes, we may have to destroy the sport to save it because someones feelings might get hurt. My first coach, now passed, was a 6’4" Pakistani Muslim named Nadeem Noon. Since then I’ve had coaches, instructors, friends and fellow competitors from every stripe of the rainbow. Not a single racist amongst them. I get to ride with professionals in some of my classes, big names. What other sport is that possible in? What other sport do men and women, black and white, old and young of every imaginable religion and nationality get to compete on equal footing? So, I dunno. Manufacture all the outrage you want. Virtue signal until you’re blue in the face. This is the most spectacularly stupid, unnecessary clusterf*ck I’ve seen in a long time.

Hearing Nad’s name gives me all the feels.

[MsRidiculous]

@Scaramouch

Does anyone else find the repeated reference to “blacks” in this editorial (as opposed to black people or POC) incredibly cringey?

I’ve been absolutely cringing every time someone shares that op-ed from The Horse of Delaware Valley (aka Equestrian Brietbart). That site has a long history of op-eds that have put them on the wrong side of history, as well as inappropriate and offensive name-calling and accusations. You don’t have to go very far back to see their staunch support of GM, including some statements that will really raise your eyebrows. That place is something else. If I found myself nodding along with and sharing ANY of their op-eds, I would have to stop and seriously question wtf I’m thinking.

[Equibrit]

There’s an awful generation X crassness about all this. Having grown up around horses and hunts, it was always drilled in to us that you RESPECT landowners who allow you use their land, leave it how you found it, and generally work hard to maintain a good relationship. This landowner is from an old foxhunting family, I think, and would expect nothing less. Whoever started all this crap should probably at least research traditions and act accordingly. Charging in like an ignorant social crusader has been pretty insulting to the landowner.

[fordtraktor]

Wow, this from the COTH article is pretty amazing. @OverandOnward EN itself states they knew this was a potential outcome so we no longer need to wonder if they possibly could have foreseen it:

"As they proceeded, Wylie and EN owner John Thier knew the loss of the event might be the outcome. In an email shared with the Chronicle, dated Aug. 28, Olympic rider and PFEE board member Boyd Martin wrote, “The worst case outcome for us in the Eventing world is that if the landowner gets so offended with this issue that he decides to kick the event off his land and we lose the venue for the sport we love and need.” Thier responded, “There are many worse outcomes for Eventing in the US than losing the PFI venue, such as the sport not standing up for what is right.”

PFEE board members also said EN invoked the threat of mainstream media coverage if the event did not change its name."

[Equibrit]

Ms Wylie (EN) seems to be on a mission; https://www.horsenation.com/category/leslie-wylie/

Is there some problem with just being a journalist. I wonder who’s next.