@Virginia Horse Mom thank you for your summary.
In addition to losing PF, EN also likely lost us one of Boyd’s good sponsors/owners. So congrats, EN! Way to undermine our National Team! Owners willing and financially able to back horses for our top riders are not easy to obtain.
Thanks to Virginia Horse Mom for setting out the likely sequence of events.
One extra thought: EN posted its article on “the problem with Planation” on the the morning of Sept 16, and then added an update about three hours later when PF set out its press release announcing the end of tbhe lease. However, we know Cuyler Walker wrote to eveyone else on the 14th. I think its rather a stretch to believe EN published that September 16 editorial without knowing Walker had already made his decision.
Thanks for taking the time to read and absorb it 
I did my best.
My take is the same as a few other folks have noted. It appears neither party was interested in compromising. But the facts are, EN didn’t own the land, wasn’t the President of PFEE, or a voting member of the BOD for PFEE… and EN wasn’t someone who was in a designated leadership position with either USEA or USEF… nor was EN a voting participant on the Board of Directors for either USEA or USEF.
Soooo… the primary thing they could do was contact people and express their opinion that a change should take place… not force a change if other key stakeholders didn’t want that change.
This is how things seemed to start… but at some point Leslie Wiley and EN got frustrated, and informed certain people involved that they weren’t totally without power when it came to the people allowed to decide on whether this change in name should or shouldn’t happen…
EN has a big following and that means they have the power of the press.
It is only rumor at this point that they actually “threatened” anyone with negative coverage if the parties involved didn’t concede to ENs point of view…
Perhaps it was more a matter of “informing” the parties involved that there “possibly” could be negative coverage in the broader media if they didn’t agree with EN’s request that the name of this venue be changed…
None of us really know for sure…
But guess what is now known for a fact at this point?
The people with the ability to change the name of this venue did not agree to do so…
And then this weekend, an article about this situation was published in the NYT, and it was ab unflattering article with respect to the sport, and key details about the history behind the name of the venue were omitted, the fact that the venue has raised money for various causes for years, including the Work to Ride program (so that inner city kids who are predominantly minorities can have more access to equestrian activities) in Philadelphia was omitted, the fact that Mr. Walker and his family have generously donated to a number of causes, and opened up their land for community uses for a number of generations was omitted, but Mr. Walker’s full name as the owner of this specific property was noted, and the fact that Mr. Walker prefers to keep this property and venue named “Plantation Field” was noted, and the fact that Mr. Walker is a registered Republican was noted.
And Leslie Wiley willingly spoke to the NYT about the controversy… a controversy that she and EN actually got going… because according to the area II chair with the USEA, the USEA has no feedback from participants in this area who have attended this event on record that they even want the name of Plantation Field chanted because they feel its offensive.
As the saying goes… the thing speaks for itself.
Agreed 
I think they were making good on whatever the “communication” (Not threat … nope… we will just call it a communication) was apparently made at some point during this unfortunate series of events… the communication that went from EN to some of the parties involved, informing them that if the name wasn’t changed, that negative coverage of this venue, PFEE, and Mr. Walker with respect to the highly intense and inflammatory issue of racial sensitivity might be a direct result.
You are correct… this isn’t a court of law… it is a court of public opinion.
I will admit that I have made the conscious decision to post quite a bit on this thread for that very reason. Situations like this are tricky, and many people with direct knowledge are legally bound to stay silent… or ethically bound… or it’s just a matter of sanity and self preservation for them at this point…
And then the whole thing gets rolling, and people with the attention span of a kumquat start talking about bits and pieces, and easy and quick conclusions are reached that almost always reflect the underlying preconceived biases of the social media mob… and it can be really unfair.
EN is completely a creation of social media… they know exactly how there sorts of things work and how to shape narratives and say some stuff and omit other stuff… it’s annoying.
I have no direct reason or obligation to say silent, and tend to have the opposite problem of most people when it comes to social media and attention span … I sometimes get intensely focused on stuff and follow along putting together bits and pieces of information until the bitter end… so I figured I would pipe up on this one…
as I think it’s fair game. EN started a social media controversy, and they deserve to experience some heat as a result…
I think Mr Walker is a very much bigger player than the crusaders at EN. Can’t imagine what the result would be if he decided to go after them, rather than write them off as an irritation he doesn’t care to bother with.
I agree. And have also been pondering if that heat could include a actual legal action for defamation.
I think Mr Walker would just like to go back to his life and step away from the controversy.
He’s CERTAINLY someone I wouldn’t advise trying a stunt like this with, because…
however…
All indications are that Mr. Walker has exceptionally good manners, and participates in charitable endeavors on a regular basis because he has a truly generous character and likes to do that sort of thing in his local community… and he very likely will just graciously let this go.
I’m troubled somewhat by the repeated insistence that compromise was necessary. The landowner does not need to compromise anything at all. This was purely a philanthropic endeavor of their part.
Now the land will remain a preserve, without the ever present looming tragedy in the making that is modern day eventing.
Unless the negative attention from the national news sources results in death threats and vandalism to his properties from crazies. That’s a very real, and very valid concern in today’s climate.
And that is what EN essentially promised they would do if the landowner didn’t bow to their threats.
Man I hope these people fall hard. They won’t, but I wish it.
I think some of the chatter about the organizer and the land owner being unwilling to compromise smells a bit…
almost as though there was a deliberate effort to sprinkle that sort of narrative on social media in the comments section…
and anyone with half a brain watching this unfold knows that many many people will see one or two comments like that, their confirmation bias will kick right in, and they will run with the narrative further in additional comments on other social media related stories on this subject…
”Yes Yes! These old white privileged men are stubborn bigots who weren’t even willing to sit down with the pure hearted racial allies from EN, and even have a discussion over such an important issue, much less compromise!”
And as the sheep continue to mill around, bleating to one another wondering why no one would sit down and discuss this, or compromise, and some sheep repeat over and over “It must have been the fault of those old white men”…
well… there you go.
To me, that’s how a potential “social media prevent defense strategy“, if you will, for a situation like this could easily play out.
even if the truth is more something along the following lines…
You launched a righteous woke social justice crusade on the issue of the name of an event in Chester County, PA at a venue with no historical connection to slavery of any kind, that was owned by a family for multiple generations who chose the name and like the name for their own reasons that are totally innocuous in nature and origin, foolishly overplayed your hand, should now own the lion’s share of blame for this unfortunate and substantial mess in terms of a major venue shutting down for good, a mess that truly does financially harm the sport and a few key upper level figures in the sport who are located RIGHT BY this venue…
But understandably enough you aren’t too keen on shouldering the lion’s share of the blame for this colossal stupid mess, that is sure to pi$$ off a lot of people, and you would sort of prefer it if blame was… ya know… spread around a bit, so that less of the u comfortable burden of responsibility for the mess landed on you.
So yeah… just carefully and subtl imply that the old white guys are obviously partly to blame… because aren’t they ALWAYS obviously mostly to blame?
Anyway… that’s partially what I think is going on.
Meanwhile… Rob Burk and the Board of USEA seem to be sitting quietly stage right twiddling their thumbs inconspicuously…
which also merits scrutiny. Seriously. But that’s too much for the sheep to zero in on. Three variables will confuse them all. So just stick to the, “blame the old white guy” strategy,
But hey… I’m deeply cynical and see it how I see it at this point. Maybe I’m wrong about this… but I suspect I’m not…
Great post.
I was teaching Voltaire last week, and let me tell you, nothing is more apt in this moment than reading Voltaire, who absolutely was a modern man very much predicting the excesses (and zealotry) of his own rationalist movement and how it would inevitably end in bloodshed, and reaction.
The pendulum swings, and I believe ultimately toward the good, but a lot of self interested monsters wreak a lot of damage along the way.
I completely agree… a very very very real possibility and concern. The stress alone after having your name included in a NYT article like that, just worrying about potential crazies… that must be awful.
And like I mentioned earlier… I have a family member who still works in Philly and was regularly in and around some downtown areas impacted by BLM demonstrations earlier in the summer because of his work… and it was frightening. He’s an older white male family member in his 70’s, and handicapped… and we were worried for his physical safety just because people were truly very very agitated.
Chester County is relatively far away from downtown Philadelphia, and insulated in its own bubble of the countryside in many respects… but still… tension is very high right now, and this is a very inflammatory story, and an article just ran in the Philadelphia Inquirer as well about it.
Like, Like, Like a thousand times here! And just to reaffirm for the Google crawler…Eventing Nation, otherwise known as EN, is the pot stirrer to blame.
Right??!!! I’ve been continuously amazed by people suggesting that he should “compromise” about the name of his own private property, as if the agitators causing all the drama somehow have any bit of leverage over him.
I’m pretty darn liberal, but this whole mess makes me angry on the landowner’s behalf.
Just for the record, in Chester County, Cuyler Walker has lived a life that has been anything but obscure. He is a very well-known fixture in government, politics and civic activities in that area.
He IS quite involved in politics apparently… and a Republican. which brings us right back around to square one.
Why again did EN decide to drop their role as a semi- journalistic social media based news outlet, and assume the roll of full blown social justice advocates for change when it came to THIS particular eventing venue?
I really do not agree that Cuyler Walker handled this “graciously”. He got his nose out of joint and trashed 20 years of work and dedication poured into this event by so many people over the years. Many volunteers included. A fixture relied on by hundreds of competitors and by Area II. And by sponsors as well, who put their money in. And the community who benefited from visitor money spent in town. All done for, because Cuyler Walker was pissed.
I keep coming back to the same thing: One person cancelled the event: Cuyler Walker. No one else.
As for landowner’s prerogative, this is the danger of having a single individual, with no financial benefit from the event, with sole control over continuing or ending a venue with so much infrastructure and investment built into it. If eventing wants to grow and host larger and more noticeable events, this model is a very risky bet for the future. A LO/organizer who has a financial stake in the success of the event, or an ownership cooperative also with a financial stake, or something else, will be a far more stable model.
And now, not for nothing, eventing has taken a negative hit from “rich white people who want to ride their horses on a plantation” published by the NY Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and more. We are all dirtied by the implication, thanks to Cuyler Walker. (Luckily the larger ongoing drama of 2020 should limit the outside media resources available for this story going forward.)
That media coverage is not exactly a surprise. Mr. Cuyler Walker is a sophisticated, experienced, man of the world and this is his media backyard, as well as his political and civic backyard. He’s had a lot of contact with the media over the years. Of course pulling the plug over the name ‘plantation’ was going to result in this type of attention. And not the nice story of his family’s philanthropy - that doesn’t sell media. Cuyler Walker should have known better.
As an experienced business person, Walker would have known the options and alternatives as well as anyone else. He could have slow-walked the name question with studies and committees. He could have dragged that out for a couple of years and then come up with some sort of compromise name, or just a symbol or paragraph attached, with agreement from riders of color, after public interest had waned. He could have put his critics on the committees to keep them busy and diverted from what they otherwise might publish (as LBJ used to say, it is better to have your enemies inside the tent pissing out). He could have spun out even more time finding funding for all of this name consideration.
Or he could have reached out to representatives of riders of color … or could have done this or could have done that … but he didn’t. He just decided ‘I don’t care about any of you so you’re done, along with everything you’ve invested in for 20 years’. Paraphrased, as it were.
I am grieved and sympathetic for all the competitors for their loss of this event. For all those who invested their time and resources, the sponsors, the volunteers, the workers, even the curmudgeonly organizer who dedicated so much of his life to it. And for the community who lost a nice financial boost to the economy.
I am not at all sorry for Cuyler Walker. As for the negative media coverage coming his way, he knew better. He did this to himself.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
