Exactly. Glad you’re starting to get it. Black lives matter more than that stuff. That’s the point.
And as someone who grew up in Chester county, trust me… they’re fine.
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If you feel guilty for your upbringing and its location, then you should do something about it. If you are still in Chester County you could run for office, support a local Black-owned business, encourage Black citizens to run for office, etc. I suspect the small business owners who lost still more revenue in this very lean year aren’t happy about. I doubt every single business in Chester County is wholly owned by a White citizen.
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You’ve utterly lost the plot and my goodness you’re quite smug about it. Wow.
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https://theoddbee.com/2020/06/04/bla…usinesseswcpa/
Black-owned businesses in Chester County. I suspect at least a few normally get a bit of a boost from the activities at PFEE. I also doubt this is an exhaustive list.
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I disagree. I think it had a lot to do with racial injustice. Racial injustice and racial inequality are both products of systemic racism. Monuments and landmarks glorifying slavery are littered all over PA and all over this country. I would recommend everyone educate themselves and listen to people of color on how this effects them.
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I don’t feel guilty about my upbringing I’m just able to recognize the role white privilege had in my upbringing. And I say this as someone who clawed my way into this sport and didn’t have everything handed to me either. I did the whole working student thing 7 days a week. My parents never paid for lessons, or riding boots, or anything. It was very hard for me to be able to ride but even still I’m able to say that I benefited from white privilege. My riding career was hard, but it was never hard because of the color of my skin. Nobody is saying ANYONE here needs to feel guilty about anything. All people are saying is that we should take the time to educate ourselves and listen to black voices and amplify them and I try to do that.
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Can you show a photos of a monument or landmark glorifying slavery on that piece of land owned by Mr. Walker?
Are they within the town limits and on the sidewalks, then that can be addressed by citizens at council meetings.
If you are discussing monuments and landmarks at Gettsyburg, PA well that is a discussion that needs to be taken up in Adams County and of course, Gettysburg itself. As well as the NPS.
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Sounds as though you could do more good by actually reaching out to young riders and giving them the benefit of your experience instead of applauding the loss of a venue that was available to so many groups in the community.
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You want me to reach out to young riders and tell them about how they should go work for someone 7 days a week, all day long, in exchange for a crappy “lesson” on an unbroke horse, with an unskilled and abusive trainer, and work themselves into exhaustion, because that’s all STILL better than their home life? I’m good.
Guys, I’ve said my peace and I’m going to step out of this conversation given how toxic it’s already gotten. I would encourage everyone to take a deep breath and read what people of color in this sport have had to say about this before you comment any further. Take care guys.
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Oh and here is a list of Confederate (they are traitors and shouldn’t have monuments, IMO) monuments in Pennsylvania as of 2017, excluding Gettsyburg of course.
Pennsylvania’s publicly supported Confederate monuments, per the SPLC, include the following:
- Lee Park Avenue; Wilkes-Barre/Hanover Township (though a local historian contradicts this conclusion)
- Confederate Soldiers Monument and Confederate Dead Marker; McConnellsburg, Fulton County
- Last Confederate Bivouac Marker; McConnellsburg
- Confederate Lane roadway; McConnellsburg
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No, I’m suggesting that you are an older, experienced rider who could reach out to younger riders and tell them how YOU made it. Encourage them. Donate to riding programs for inner city children so they can get the opportunity to learn to ride and see where it takes them. Work to Ride could use the financial boost, for example.
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Also, you state that Pennsylvania is “littered” with landmarks to the confederacy. I can only find four. Now, maybe you are referring to road signs about the battles that did occur, or almost occurred on the road to Gettysburg.
https://theincline.com/2020/06/30/pennsylvanias-confederate-monuments-are-coming-down/
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I am going to take a moment to pop back into the thread, and try and engage constructively and thoughtfully with you… if you don’t mind.
This particular post stood out to me, as well as another post you wrote that seemed to reference the working student experience many young people have had a taste of when spending time in an upper level eventer’s program (riding super green OTTBs in lessons with a professional who can be an utter jerk, as the primary part of your compensation… while slogging away doing hard labor 7 days a week). And you also have referenced some familiarity with the Chester County area, from the vantage point of having lived there at some point…
And I will start off my point by saying that certain aspects of some of the opinions and perspective you are sharing DO ring true to me.
Honestly, I’m getting a feeling that you are frustrated with some of the economic inequalities in terms of how people get to participate in the sport (and the sort of opportunities available) just as much as you are with the the lack of diversity and inclusion. Is that a fair take on it?
I do think the economic disparities in terms of inclusiveness and opportunities in MOST equestrian sports are closely correlated to the racial background of participants involved. It’s a societal reality. Some people on this thread seem to be referring to this as a matter of “white privilege”… others are looking at it as a matter of economics, and also as a result of the traditional aspects of who gets introduced to equestrian sports at a young age (typically, kids who have parents who have participated in the sport… which, going back one or two generations… definitely means predominantly white people in the United States).
I do not personally care for the book “white fragility”… which is a major influence at present on how much of society is discussing some of the challenges we have with race and opportunity on our country at present. I’m of the opinion that it is a highly divisive book, and that the writer is very much a self promoter. On the flip side, I feel the same in many respects about Candace Owens. I’m not a big fan of hers… too much self promotion, and she is a very divisive figure at present.
But if I want to be an “ally” of people with a different racial background involved in equestrian sports, and more inclusive… If I want to try and take to heart some concepts advocated and outlined by the folks who have read “White Fragility”… it seems obvious to me that the first focal point in most equestrian sport really should be the treatment of labor and grooms at many many venues, and in many elite competitive programs.
Eventing, and how working students are treated is one thing… but the way Latino/Hispanic grooms and the people who often work on farms in terms of ground maintenance, etc are treated? Especially in Florida, and if we broaden this discussion to include the hunter jumper community?
To me… that’s the obvious inequity inclusivity issue that is truly horrible that the sport should focus on. I find it mystifying still that there is so much focus on the name “Plantation Field” and BIPOC involved in the sport… and so little focus on participation of Latino individuals in actual sport, instead of being primarily relegated to the role of “groom” in places like Wellington.
And as someone else mentioned earlier… jokes about working like a “Mexican” are widespread throughout the sport and elsewhere, when it comes to doing very hard labor… I’ve actually heard young white working students in eventing programs home that way. Not because they were intentionally racist, etc… but more because they were frustrated with how hard they were working, and how poorly they felt they were being treated at times while participating in a certain eventing program with a pretty harsh, verbally abusive boss.
Anyway… just kinda curious if you have any feedback on what I’m driving at. Sorry if I’m rambling a bit. I’m trying to engage you without fighting.
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Please for the love of god and all that is holy, be on the side of not hurting people over a name, no matter what kind of “thinker” ladyj thinks that makes you.
^^^ this just sums up everything I am feeling on this situation.
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But they hurt LOTS of people over a name.
They hurt the sport they claim to support. They made it so no one has a chance to ride there. And they hurt all the charities this non-profit supported.
That is a lot of hurting over a name, when all that was required to make this not hurt anyone is a little bit of common sense and not being a bull in a china shop.
I have said it before, I totally see why land owners do not want to deal with this crowd. Wow!
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If many of the posts in this thread are any indication, I can see why the landowner kicked you out. The only question in my mind is how did he put up with you people for 20 years.
My eyes have certainly been opened.
You’re not worth the effort.
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But there are no monuments or landmarks glorifying slavery on this property–As there arguably are at Morven Park. Is your contention here that no events should take place in the state of Pennsylvania, or by extension any state littered with “monuments and landmarks glorifying slavery”?
Is this a state thing? A nation thing? Does it extend to anywhere that was developed using slaves or money from slavery, eg the netherlands, Great Britain, Spain…most nations?
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Well, we know that there are a range of opinions on the topic. Ms. Helen Casteel took the time to post on this thread, for example.
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There are rumors the youth charity they supposedly supported hadn’t received a donation from them in years. Is there any way we can see a list of charities that PFEE has donated to over the years?
I see they donated $5 an entry to the Chester County Food Bank last year. I am not doubting the donations, but I keep seeing it mentioned they donated like crazy to youth in need and I would like to see the facts not rumors.
Sharing some links of the good things I see they have done that I could find:
https://www.retiredracehorseproject.org/trainer-directory/1002-starfire_eventing
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Work to Ride received money in 2016. If other groups got a cut rate on using the venue or had fees waived entirely, would that show up as a donation or simply less money received in fees in a given year?
Also, are we looking solely at money raised and donated via eventing? The venue was used by other groups too.
Disclaimer: I am not an accountant, it is a real question.
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