Eventing Nation booted from covering Event in Unionville, PA

[riderboy]

@MorganSercu

Jaw-dropping

That takes an astounding degree of hubris. As long as EN still has their readers, sponsors & support from USEA, etc. then I guess there is no reason for EN to change anything.

Indeed. I don’t consider myself a racist. I consider myself intelligent and educated enough to differentiate a 19th century Confederate slave Plantation in Mississippi from a 21st century Yankee tree Plantation in Quaker Pennsylvania. Our “leaders” possess all the diplomatic and political skills of Attila the Hun. Most frighteningly, moving forward, display a clear pattern of antagonistic and adversarial behavior to our generous landowners and benefactors. Stunning, heartbreaking stupidity. From a friend at Plantation today, part of the XC course. Gone.

[Horsegirl_s_Mom]

@HelenC

Thank you everyone for your kind posts and messages. I did hear from Leslie at EN over the weekend. I won’t provide a play-by-play of the conversation but everyone should know that a lot of people tried to do the right thing with a result that no one wanted. There are no villians here but there are a lot of lessons learned. I don’t know how this will all wind up but I sincerely wish that the horse trials will return with a forward thinking solution for the Plantation Fields name. I hope to meet a few of you out eventing in 2021

Does that include the landowner?

[OverandOnward]

One thing about having no record of complaints about the name, especially from POC …

So we know that a small handful of Black riders have evented there … but maybe there just haven’t been enough to even raise a complaint. It sounds as if there are only a very few black riders in eventing at all - and that’s the whole thing we’d like to address.

So it is a circular question - no complaints about an unwelcoming name because there are not many to complain - and maybe there are not many to complain because of an unwelcoming name.

We don’t know, of course, there is no way to measure that. If some people say they understand that the name isn’t intended to offend, there may be others that we won’t hear from because they choose to avoid it rather than confront it.

The local event supporters are horrified to discover that so many people don’t know the local history of the name. But how would they? Someone looking over the event schedule from hundreds of miles away is most likely not going to know that local history. They just see the name.

[OverandOnward]

For the people on this thread, the EN comments and FB who have railed that if anyone doesn’t like the name, they should stay away – that’s exclusionary behavior. It’s the crux of the problem.

Names and signage that make people feel unwelcome will keep at least some away. Especially those who are concerned that salting in such terms is a tactic intended to discourage them - although after the info in this thread, I feel assured that did not deliberately happen in this case. Some people are more bothered than others, but there are people who have past experience that makes them sensitive to such signals.

There is just no way that many people from outside the area will be up on the history that explains the true context. I didn’t know until it all broke open last week. I’ve always wondered about that name - how are they getting away with that name? Well, now we know. The event hosts didn’t think beyond their own local circle. People from elsewhere didn’t know what they didn’t know.

Had this been handled differently, before anything went public, it would have been interesting to send someone out during the event with a microphone and a recorder to do spot interviews “how much fun are you having today?” and “where are you from?” And have them work the question in with cheerfulness “do you know where they got the name of this event?” That would have been interesting.

[OverandOnward]

@riderboy

Indeed. I don’t consider myself a racist. I consider myself intelligent and educated enough to differentiate a 19th century Confederate slave Plantation in Mississippi from a 21st century Yankee tree Plantation in Quaker Pennsylvania. Our “leaders” possess all the diplomatic and political skills of Attila the Hun. Most frighteningly, moving forward, display a clear pattern of antagonistic and adversarial behavior to our generous landowners and benefactors. Stunning, heartbreaking stupidity. From a friend at Plantation today, part of the XC course. Gone.

That is truly a gorgeous place. Stunning. Spectacular.

Canceling the whole thing is throwing away an unbelievable amount of work and dedication.

If Denis Glaccum is indeed the engineer and the energy that has built it and kept it going, he may be the most injured party.

Hopefully a way will be found to keep it going.

[FitzE]

FWIW, changing the name would be the work of a paralegal and, with the number of lawyers who are horse sport fans and participants, I have no doubt that someone would have done it for them pro bono. I bet there’s someone reading right now who could and would volunteer.

Also, with the rise of naming rights for stadia, events, etc., the branding thing is much different these days. Sponsors cannot get too wedded to a specific name b/c the next year a new sponsor will come in and the name will be different. We used to joke about how you could tell when someone came to a certain city by what they called the bike race (international competition with huge stars including Greg LeMon, Lance Armstrong before his fall, etc.). The name sponsor changed so many time. It didn’t effect down-list sponsorship at all. Local folks and businesses in particular want to be connected to the event regardless of the name. And in this case it would be only one name change, not a series of names changes as other events experience.

[AffirmedHope]

COTH used the name in its article today. Careful guys, might get yourself #cancelled

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

@OverandOnward

The local event supporters are horrified to discover that so many people don’t know the local history of the name. But how would they? Someone looking over the event schedule from hundreds of miles away is most likely not going to know that local history. They just see the name.

I don’t mean to be argumentative… but…

I take issue with this particular component of this post.

The property owner and organizers seem to have been horrified that people hundreds of miles away, who didn’t know anything about why the property was named what it was, and apparently hadn’t done background investigations into history etc, started writing them letters and e-mails TELLING them the name must be changed because it was offensive.

Also worth noting… EN seems to concede there hadn’t been an outcry from anyone about the name of the event. But they felt strongly as of June of 2020 that they had a social obligation to be on the side of what they believed to be the RIGHT sort of change in terms of society and the sport… and an active force advocating for more diversity in the sport.

I believed they used the term “ally.” As in, they wanted to actively be an ally to BIPOC participating in the sport of eventing. And apparently… this was a primary motivating reason they reached out with letters and e-mails advocating for a name change.

This is quite a different thing than reaching out with letters and e-mails seeking information about the name, and seeking information from the governing bodies in the sport as to whether or not any BIPOC who were dues paying members or participants at recognized competitions had expressed a problem with this event…

Apparently they didn’t feel they need actual victims in this situation (meaning BIPOC who had come forward to request the name of this venue be changed because they personally felt harmed by it), nor any background info about the local history, why the place was named “Plantation Field.” They had already decided that it was obvious that the name should be changed… because it’s 2020, and that’s how the world works now.

Except… that’s actually not how things work when dealing with multimillionaire land owners in Chester County, Pa, who have a very long and storied family history with respect to their property and philanthropy in the surrounding area. Nope. That’s not how it works at all with those sorts of people. And it never will.

If the goal really is to bring people together, and effect positive change, people would be wise to do their homework before jumping into something like this, and employ constructive communication strategies in the future.

[OverandOnward]

@Virginia Horse Mom

I don’t mean to be argumentative… but…

I take issue with this particular component of this post.

The property owner and organizers seem to have been horrified that people hundreds of miles away, who didn’t know anything about why the property was named what it was, and apparently hadn’t done background investigations into history etc, started writing them letters and e-mails TELLING them the name must be changed because it was offensive.

When? What people? I thought the timeline was that no one knew this was going on behind the scenes except those directly involved, before about 5 days ago. I thought someone just said that the LO/organizer hadn’t heard from anyone before EN brought it up. So how were they being bombarded with all of these letters and emails from “people hundreds of miles away” before all of this?

Also, the issue with the name is not about the history of any one venue. That may be a big missed point. As I’ve pointed out previously, this name was problematic from the day it was selected. This challenge was coming sooner or later, from somewhere. It’s pretty simple to stay out of that situation and still honor and respect the history of the property. Tunnel vision is not helpful here.

@Virginia Horse Mom

Also worth noting… EN seems to concede there hadn’t been an outcry from anyone about the name of the event.

Contradicts your immediately previous statement that everyone was writing to complain about the name. That is rather argumentative, to pose it both ways, so can argue it both ways.

@Virginia Horse Mom

But they felt strongly as of June of 2020 that they had a social obligation to be on the side of what they believed to be the RIGHT sort of change in terms of society and the sport… and an active force advocating for more diversity in the sport.

I believed they used the term “ally.” As in, they wanted to actively be an ally to BIPOC participating in the sport of eventing. And apparently… this was a primary motivating reason they reached out with letters and e-mails advocating for a name change.

This is quite a different thing than reaching out with letters and e-mails seeking information about the name, and seeking information from the governing bodies in the sport as to whether or not any BIPOC who were dues paying members or participants at recognized competitions had expressed a problem with this event…

Apparently they didn’t feel they needed any actual victims in this situation, or any background info about why the place was named Plantation Field. They had already decided that it was obvious that the name should be changed… because it’s 2020, and that’s how the world works now.

Except… that’s actually not how things work when dealing with multimillionaire land owners in Chester County, Pa, who have a very long and storied family history with respect to their property and philanthropy in the surrounding area. Nope. That’s not how it works at all with those sorts of people. And it never will.

If the goal really is to being people together and effect positive change, people would be wise to do their homework and employ constructive communication strategies in the future.

I didn’t address EN’s actions in the post you quoted. I don’t disagree with what you say here.

Actually at this moment, I don’t know enough about what EN did, how they did it, or when they did it to have a well-formed opinion on their actions. I know most people already know enough to form a big opinion. I know most people are basing their big opinion on a lot of speculation and a few facts. But I usually hold out for more definitive hard information, because as it leaks out, the picture can keep changing. So I’ll wait to find out much, much more before I judge EN or the USEA - if we ever have that information, and there’s no assurance that we will.

You are being argumentative, because you are arguing points that I never made. It’s ok to just make the statements you want to make on their own, without having to frame it up as some kind of argument and implying things that the other party never said.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

@OverandOnward

When? What people? I thought the timeline was that no one knew this was going on behind the scenes except those directly involved, before about 5 days ago. I thought someone just said that the LO/organizer hadn’t heard from anyone before EN brought it up. So how were they being bombarded with all of these letters and emails from “people hundreds of miles away” before all of this?

.

I think I actually misunderstood your original post that I quoted. You mentioned local event supporters being horrified by people 100’s of miles away having an opinion on the name… and for some reason, my brain seemed to register that as the board members of PFEE … not just local eventing supporters who enjoyed the venue.

The organizers of PFEE were the folks who got communications from EN and were horrified by the approach taken. That’s what I was trying to say… but I misread your post - and then misinterpreted it.

My apologies

[Happyhack]

I’ve followed this debate because I am curious how the connections - where they actually exist - with slavery might pan out here in UK (where, as previously mentioned, several events take place at great country estates whose fortunes were built on slavery.) I also realised by about day two of this controversy that, many many moons ago, I hunted over this glorious property, kindly arranged for me by the late Mrs Hannum during my working holiday in Pennsylvania. I well remember learning about the region’s Quaker and Amish cultures. The property wasnt called PF then. Until now, when simply glancing at the name, I had subconsciously assumed PF was in the south…

It seems increasingly likely that EN went straight to Ms Autry, as a friend and former colleague, in the gauche expectation their wish would be her command. I wonder if they would have been more diligent and cautious if they hadnt had such a close connection at their NGB?

[riderboy]

@Virginia Horse Mom

Also worth noting… EN seems to concede there hadn’t been an outcry from anyone about the name of the event. But they felt strongly as of June of 2020 that they had a social obligation to be on the side of what they believed to be the RIGHT sort of change in terms of society and the sport… and an active force advocating for more diversity in the sport.

.

Bingo. We were in a local feed shop, now long gone, and the elderly white man who owned and ran it one day went on a rant and started using the “N” word. I didn’t need a ‘woke’ person to tell me how to feel about that word or any other slurs or acts of exclusion or discrimination. How many articles did EN or COTH write prior to June 2020 about Plantation Fields name being racially offensive? I don’t recall seeing or hearing about any. I have to back away a little from this, otherwise I get so angry about how senseless and stupid it is.

[riderboy]

My, my, my…2019

https://eventingnation.com/best-even…international/

[MorganSercu]

If they had focused on advocating for more diversity I doubt many would have disagreed. Inserting themselves in this matter simply led to another LO slamming the gates on equestrians.

It’s not unlike a local saddle club whose board members decry hunters but completely overlooks the demographics. There are more hunters than those who strictly ride, they didn’t want to hear from members who ride AND hunt, and they completely ignored the privileged snob factor coming out of their mouths. Quite a few hunters eat what they kill or donate to food charities that prepare and serve the hungry.

We need the support of hunters, bicyclists, etc. Or we lose trails and access. But they refuse to see that.

[ivy62]

I am going out on a limb here, why is it okay to use the term camp when concentration camp is a really bad thing?

[atl_hunter]

@Virginia Horse Mom

Leslie apparently isn’t answering emails anymore. And John Thier’s latest effort seems to be more geared towards apologizing to EN followers if they are sad about how this turned out… but continuing to lecture the broader community about issues of racial sensitivity and “Why change is hard.”

Yes, they lectured everyone about “Why change is hard” while overlooking what is so obvious to many - that 150 years ago the only time you generally saw people of color on a plantation was in a role of enslaved person. Flash forward to 2020 and not only are people of color welcome on the wealthy white owner’s land as guests, but also as competitors and athletes. Has anyone focused on the amount of PROGRESS that has been made in 150 years? No. And that is the real travesty and irony in all of this. I understand that to some the word is highly offensive. There is a lost opportunity to flip the script here, and EN was the driver of that. Why? To their point, “Change is hard.”

I think about the move Robert Hartwell made a few months ago when as a black gay man he bought a home that was built by slaves. If you missed the story, it’s worth a read: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/robert-…ilt-by-slaves/

And his IG post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CB2HE2jj…ource=ig_embed

“I know this house is bigger than me,” the Broadway Collective founder wrote. “I wish I could’ve told my ancestors when they were breaking their backs in 1820 to build this house that 200 years later a free gay black man was going to own it and fill it with love and find a way to say their name even when 200 years later they still thought I would be ‘off the table.’”

[trubandloki]

@ivy62

I am going out on a limb here, why is it okay to use the term camp when concentration camp is a really bad thing?

Thank you for asking this. I was going to ask this very question this morning too.

Will we be renaming all those summer kids programs to something else since someone with Jewish decent might find the word camp difficult to hear over and over and over again?

[Periwinkle]

@trubandloki

Thank you for asking this. I was going to ask this very question this morning too.

Will we be renaming all those summer kids programs to something else since someone with Jewish decent might find the word camp difficult to hear over and over and over again?

No, because camp is regularly used in contexts other than concentration camps. Summer camp, camping in the woods, campfires at said campsites in the wooded campgrounds. I’ve never heard “plantation” used in a context other than big farms that could only exist because white Europeans kidnapped and enslaved other humans. And yes, I always thought the name Plantation Field was strange and off-putting. I really only see the name when I go to look at live scoring for other events, so I’ve never written any letters about it, but yes, I found it rather cringey.

Now, if someone had a summer camp that worked to improve the focus of kids and called it “Concentration Camp”, yeah, that would not be a good idea. Even though by dictionary definition that term is accurate and it has nothing to do with Nazis or genocide, no one is going to send their kid there. And yes, I’d have some serious questions for anyone who did.

[RacetrackReject]

@riderboy

So…someone comes up to you, on your property, and tells you they think your farm name is offensive and racist. A farm name that has been around for what, 80 years including 20 years as a USEA Event without any complaints or problems. We may never know the exact wording of the exchanges that took place, but if the Walkers say they felt smeared as racists, do you think they’re lying? Is all of their anger just some kind of made up bullisht? Could be, but that doesn’t make much sense. What is crystal clear is that the Walkers were so angry, so upset, that they told the USEA and EN to go fck themselves and they regret ever letting us on their property. Reminds me of how Richland was handled. The very generous owners there were so angry at how they were being treated by USEA they shut that incredible venue down permanently, dismantled all of their XC jumps and sold the whole lot off. We are totally dependent on the generosity of these landowners for our sport, perhaps they are all unreasonable, selfish pricks, perhaps it’s all their fault. Or maybe we need someone at USEA that has far, far better diplomatic and people skills than what we have now. I have to wonder what other property owners are thinking, those who are currently running shows or thinking about running shows in the future. If it were me, I would not touch the USEA with a 50 foot pole.

Where were they asked to change the name of their farm? I read that they were asked to allow a media source to refer to the event taking place on their farm by another name and, perhaps, to change the event name in the future. That’s how it all started.

My farm holds no public events and no one would know the name beyond friends and family, so not an issue. If my farm held public events where the name could be offensive to some, you can bet your ass that I would change it, even though that’s not what was originally asked here.

I don’t think they’re lying if they feel they are being called racist. Did you even read what I said? I said that maybe people were inferring that they were racist was because of the company they keep.

A lot of change happens in 80 years. Just because something has been around for 80 years doesn’t mean that it is right now. Slavery took place well before that 80 year mark and I assume that you can agree that that change was a good idea and one that needed to come about? It’s called evolution. Evolve or go extinct with the other relics.

[Blackjack]

There are housing communities through out the country named Plantation. Plantation Bay, Plantation Woods, Plantation Lake and Plantation Hills. Do they all have to change their name ??? Next thing you know, we won’t be able to say Dixie cup !!!