You could take a look here; https://www.facebook.com/MajorLeagueEventing/
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Itās weird to see people say that EN is throwing a spoiled temper tantrum when the land owners are the ones punishing everyone for the actions of ONE publicationā¦ they couldāve just ignored it?? No one was going to force them to change their nameā¦ Like you really donāt see the double standard here between one entity trying to do the right thing and one entity throwing an absolute fit for no really good reason? I also wholeheartedly wish that people could take the time learn what the First Amendment ACTUALLY saysā¦ it has nothing to do with this situation whatsoever lol.
The bottom line is, the equestrian world is so hilariously sheltered from the real world that itās actually sad to see how big of a deal this is to EVERYONE involved. Have a lilā perspective and take ten chill pills, everyone!
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EN was threatening to pull in the national media. The landowner generously has supported eventing for 20 years, for no personal benefit.
You really think that threats of bringing the national media is OK, given the current political climate of people burning down buildings and destroying property associated with racism? They do this even when it is not warranted, statues of abolitionists all over the country have been defaced and toppled just because they look like old white dudes. Its very unsurprising that the owner decided he wanted to nothing to do with this sort of attention. He owns the property and is under no obligation to do anything for anyone, coming after him with the torches and pitchforks was a fine way to thank him for 20 years of generosity and sponsorship of the eventing community.
If you had bothered to read the article by COTH, you would see that Boyd cautioned EN that the owner could withdraw permission for the event if they kept pushing so aggressively. EN responded with āthere could be worse things for the sportā. they knew this was a possible outcome if they didnt pump the brakes and let the negotiations calm down a little. They didnt care, they just stepped on the gas even harder.
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I just wanted to reiterate that my previous posts were in response to people saying that the word āplantationā shouldnāt be offensive to anyone because those people donāt think it is. We as a modern society need to understand that just because something doesnāt offend you doesnāt mean no one else should be offended by it. You donāt have to agree that the name should be changed, but you need to acknowledge that the name does offend quite a few people, actually, and does have an inherent negative connotation, regardless of the origin in this specific situation.
The āmasterā definition, therefore a Masterās shouldnāt be called a Masterās, isnāt really a relevant example. The word āmasterā has a ton of very common definitions, only one of which is related to slavery. Plantation is pretty universally (at least to every single person I have asked) associated with slavery and only very rarely a āplace that grows treesā (more common for that would be āgroveā or āorchardā).
The venues on land that were originally plantations also isnāt really relevant, you canāt change the past and make it so it never was a plantation. You can change the name of a place that, tbh, doesnāt really sound like it was an actual plantation anyways (could be wrong, maybe it was, no idea).
As far as the owner canceling the event, I do agree that itās his property and he can do what he wants.
As for if it was an overreaction or notā¦I really just donāt understand what the whole story is now. Where are the places saying EN had been bullying PF into changing? All I have seen is that they wanted to have a discussion, that they said they wouldnāt be using the name Plantation to refer to the venue anymore (which I completely understand). I never saw a thing about them threatening to go to the media or trying to bully PF into changing, I canāt tell if thatās true or just people interpreting things that way because it goes along with how they already feel (really easy to fall into that). Iām not saying its not there somewhere, I just havenāt seen that, where have yall been seeing that? If its true, then yeah obviously EN didnāt go about it the right way either. Though that doesnāt change that the sentiment is still sound.
One thing I donāt understandā¦the place was originally called Loganās (or whatever the grandfather/great-grandfather/whoever name was, I donāt remember). Would it not be a good compromise to change it to that? That would honor its history and origin way better than a āplantationā built by boy scouts planting a bunch of bushes or whatever, anyways.
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Itās in the COTH article.
"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, āThe 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.āĀ Thier responded, āThere 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.āĀ
PFEE board members also said EN invoked the threat of mainstream media coverage if the event did not change its name."
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But no one on the masthead or featured on the editorial pages are non-white. Again, if they want to point out problems in other areas they should still examine their own biases and situation. Surely someone on their support staff is an excellent writer, or they could actively recruit.
Big papers, news media and institutions are doing it, surely a smaller, newer and less hidebound publication could accomplish it even more readily. After all, they arenāt necessarily looking for someone with a doctorate degree and experience running a lab in a niche field.
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Uhhhā¦ in the real world, a substantial plot of land that is cleared and suitable for an upper level cross country course in a location like Chester County, PA costs MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
In the real world, folks who spend hours organizing and holding events at a place like this do not get rich. They do it for love of the sport. Itās thankless work. Maintenance involved in creating a nice, well maintained facility? Uhhhā¦ thatās a massive headache and super expensive. Year in and year out.
In the real world, lawsuits in dangerous sports like eventing are an ever present concern for event organizersā¦ and property owners. Carrying adequate liability coverage when it comes to hosting competitions at the upper levels? Yeahā¦ in the real world that requires DEEP POCKETS and the cost just keeps on going up, year in and year out.
But heyā¦ the folks organizing the event, and the landowner, still worked on putting together an amazing event year in and year out at a special location in Area II. The organizers could have devoted their time and efforts to other endeavors, that probably would have been far more personally profitable. And the land owner CERTAINLY could have sold off all this open space and prime land years ago,and had it subdivided so that debelopers could build McMansions. He likely would have gotten VERY RICH if he had made that choice 20 years ago.
But guess what? They supported the sport of eventing instead. And created a venue that was wonderful and special for the community involved in this sport.
And thenā¦ in June of 2020 (in the midst of a highly contentious presidential political cycle and a national outcry on various issues related to race relations)ā¦ a small publication focused only on the ānicheāĀ sport of eventing, which derives most of its revenue from clicks and advertising launched into a controversy with all these folks overā¦
the name of the event.
Did EN ask the USEA area II chair person if any competitors who had attended this event had provided the USEA with formal feedback concerning an experience related to racial discrimination and feeling unwelcome onsite at this event?
Wellā¦ apparently not. Hmmm. Thatās odd.
Did EN ask the landowner or longtime organizers about the actual history behind the name of this eventā¦ you knowā¦ the family history related to the property that had been held by one family for multiple generations?
Apparently not.
Nopeā¦ the brilliant young minds that call themselves āeditorsāĀ at EN (a social media outlet that revolves around click based advertising strategies) actually decided to TELL a multigenerational land owner in Chester County, PA, and longtime organizers of an International Event that the name of this Event was āinsensitiveāĀ and should be changed.
When this strategy proved unproductive (shockingā¦ I knowā¦), someone at some point told either an organizer or the landowner that they might take this whole issue to the national media and the court of public opinionā¦
at which pointā¦ the land owner said to everyoneā¦
We are done here. Time for you folks to leave my beautiful property after this season. You all are an ungrateful rude bunch.
Thatās how this sort of thing works in the real world when a ridiculous click based niche sport social media outlet tries to get in the face of a wealthy, multi generational, Ivy League educated land owner in Chester County, and dictate to them what that land owners property should or shouldnāt be named.
Mr. Walker doesnāt NEED anyone on his property. Nor does he NEED headaches like this. EN does need clicksā¦ and I guess they got them via this ridiculous episode.
The USEA howeverā¦ it certainly DOES rely upon support from people like Mr. Walker who own large tracts of desirable land in locations like Chester County PA, and the organizers of PFEE for the sport to continue on successfully.
In my opinionā¦ it doesnāt seem to really matter for EN that they bit the proverbial hand that feeds the sport. But it sure does matter that the USEA didnāt take a more proactive role in managing this debacle, and preventing this meltdown.
At this point, serious folks should ignore click based outlets who are continuing to make noise about thisā¦ and turn their attention to leadership at the USEA and ask, āwhat happened with this situation, who was involved, and what communications went on?āĀ
Thatās what serious folks in the real world are actually thinking about this whole thing.
But heyā¦ others can keep on debating the use of the word Plantation if they want to. As if that is going to solve issues related to racial disparity in our countryā¦ or help grow the sport of eventing.
unreal.
Hope all you social justice warriors concerned about sensitivity have fun at Morven Park in a few weeksā¦ as apparently you hypocrites (or blithely ignorant nincompoops) have no qualms about that venue.
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Logan was a guy that owned the property before the current owners family bought it. Itās quite irrlelevant, as the current owner can call it whatever he wants, for whatever reason he wants.
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Itās funny how that works when youā¦
actually own a property like this.
For all you folks wondering why the land owner didnāt compromise with EN on the name of this event?
Perhaps because he didnāt have to. He knows the history of the property and the name (there was nothing racial involved) and he OWNS IT.
Furthermoreā¦ he doesnāt need to host the event there. Itās a courtesy to the sporting communityā¦
Essentially people were told, āDonāt let the door hit you in the a$$āĀ and some are still wondering why there was no compromiseā¦
It would be comical if it wasnāt sad for people in the sport who didnāt complain, but now will lose out on a wonderful venue.
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āEventing Nation was started 11 years ago in a barn aisle with the idea that the eventing community is unlike any other. Full of our quirks and rough edges, we come together in barns all across the country, united by love of horses and our crazy sport, to form groups that care for each other through thick and thin. Wouldnāt it be cool if there was a place that encouraged that community to flourish and spread across the country, North America, and the world?ā - EN
Yes, it would be way cool. And the way to achieve that community would be to give everyone in the whole wide world a horse.
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Perhaps some of us here of a certain age know what the term āplaying chickenā meansā¦
For those who donātā¦Youāre driving down a one-lane road. Two vehicles are driving directly toward each other to see which driver will swerve away firstā¦hoping the other guy will withdraw before an actual conflict or collision.
EN forgot they were playing chicken with a Kenworthā¦or maybe a Mack Truckā¦and they got run over.
We riders are guests on the land we ride. And lest we forgetā¦memorize the Landownerās Mantraā¦My Barnā¦My Rulesā¦
I suggest all readers on this thread reach out to their land owners and have a ālandowner appreciationā outreach.
Based on this PF debacle, I am planning on my personal landowner appreciation outreach to express my sincere thanks to the person who owns the land on whose property me and my horses are guests.
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It would appear from what was posted on the EN page around lunch time that John Thiel realized this morning that he was up to his neck in the cow manure pit, with the likelihood of additional deposits. What he wrote cannot repair the harm they have done, and he really needs to be apologizing to Cuyler Walker. Weāre all in this together Cumbaya stuff just doesnāt get it.
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Really because all Iāve seen is them trying to claim they have done nothing wrong. I dont buy it, and I hope that people remember this for a long time.
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yes, it has gone somewhat mainstream. I saw it in the federalist today. Not a horsie mag at all.
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Ć¢ĖĀĆÆĀøĀ This. Well said.
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Made the Daily Lack of News
https://www.dailylocal.com/news/local/controversy-sparks-lease-to-be-canceled-for-plantation-field/article_19a8ecde-f8fb-11ea-82a8-8342f7ba0796.html
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Are you serious?!
I do not blame the landowner one bit from pulling out.
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Links:
https://horsesport.com/horse-news/lease-cancelled-plantation-field-international/
Philadelphia Inquirer:
1 Like
Why Change Is Hard
By John on Sep 18, 2020 12:38 pm - 2,946 views
Eventing Nation was started 11 years ago in a barn aisle with the idea that the eventing community is unlike any other. Full of our quirks and rough edges, we come together in barns all across the country, united by love of horses and our crazy sport, to form groups that care for each other through thick and thin. Wouldnāt it be cool if there was a place that encouraged that community to flourish and spread across the country, North America, and the world?
The challenge of relationships and community is that, if you want them to be real, you will have to step into moments of tough conversation and conflict. EN has consistently been willing to move into places of tough conversation well before others because we believe that our community can be real, not just easy. The harder the issue, the more difficult and the more important this first step becomes.
Everyone should be free to hold any particular belief about a word. And I want to say that I personally see each side of the discussion about the word that is causing so much debate this week. But the challenge now facing our sport is not about one word. Frankly, itās not just about diversity. The question we now face is how will we as a community respond to deep, painful, genuine conflict? Who and what principles will guide us?
The only three actions taken by the editorial team at EN were 1) privately raise the name issue through what we believed were the proper channels, 2) make a commitment to use an alternative name in our coverage on EN, and 3) publish an editorial explaining our perspective after the decisions had been made to not allow us to cover the event and to cancel the event moving forward. I cannot be clear enough that we never made any threats to any person or organization.
The possibility of losing a terrific event is an incredibly tough blow to our sport. It is an outcome that we never desired and never expected. One of the mistakes we made was failing to recognize how deeply the political divisions have primed each of us to turn healthy conflict into bitter strife. We are like mountain climbers crossing a snowfield ā seeing fields of white snow all around us while massive chasms wait just beneath the surface for one wrong step to bring disaster.
Day in day out, I only hold our editorial team to one standard: did you do what you thought was right for the sport? But thereās an implied second question ā did you do it in what you thought was the right way? I honestly believe that, in pursuing a private conversation through proper channels, we were trying to not only stand up for what we thought was right, but do so in a way that upheld our values of seeking understanding and unity. We only went public after the situation had, to our dismay, exploded. It remains to be seen what the long-term cost to EN will be. But the editorial team lived up to their mandate in a way that makes me incredibly proud to be their leader.
This background is important not to defend ourselves but to provide context for the choices in front of all of us. The positive changes that I genuinely believe almost all of us seek are only possible if we first figure out how to address conflict while staying united as a community. A great number of us must radically put aside our frustrations and anger and come together to have tough conversations rather than rapidly escalating into anger and attacks. The great paradox is that conversation is not enough. We must care for our principles enough that they make a difference and simultaneously care for each other enough that unity thrives amidst change.
Like any sport, eventing is largely controlled by a few key people. We canāt control how those folks will respond, but we can control how we will respond. And so, with a sense of humility that is easily achieved amidst the bumpiness of this week, I submit a few principles that we at EN are committed to:
- Seek first to understand. We should have asked more questions before advocating for our position.
- Assume positive intent. I can see how people felt attacked by our request. We should have done an even better job of emphasizing that we were advocating for a change to a name rather than putting forth any perspective about history or people.
- We donāt demand that everyone be as passionate about diversity as we are open to the critique that we pursue this issue with too much zeal.
- Try to deal with issues privately and directly rather than publicly. One of the big questions in my mind is whether we would have handled this better by going directly to the event. Itās hard to say, but I think itās a good general principle to avoid having someone else tell your story.
- Stay away from flame wars on social media and in comment sections. Conflict only begets more conflict. Anger only begets more anger.
- Do the right thing and applaud when others do the right thing. Stand up for what you believe in but keep an open heart and mind. Chinch isnāt afraid to speak his mind, and we love that about him, but itās easy to put on blinders in these situations.
- Recognize and value all of our sportās myriad participants and stakeholders.
- Be kind. If we want EN to be a safe and welcoming space for all, we must set that precedent through our own behavior.
- Whatever our position or approach yesterday, it can change right now, at this very moment, for the better.
- Keep red on right, white on left, and insanity in the middle.
As the world changes, change is coming for our sport as well. This is neither the first nor last time weāre going to be faced with a difficult and divisive issue. But going forward we can choose to invest our energy in attacking the issue rather than one another.
Itās time to dismantle the fences that have gone up this week within and throughout our community. Weāll hope youāll join us in beginning that process.
Now more than ever, Go Eventing.
