Eventing Nation booted from covering Event in Unionville, PA

[Jealoushe]

@riderboy

Well said…

https://www.thehorseofdelawarevalley…T7vhTfb177qpSE

Nah, PF doomed because they think an event name is more important than inclusion. They think someone suggesting the name has racial undertones is enough reason to pack up their toys have a tantrum and run home. It’s pathetic really. Instead of stopping and thinking, gee maybe they are right and we can work on this, they cancel.

Everyone is mad at EN but they should be mad that our sport is so bloody elite and entitled that it will never ever gain the popularity it wants because we can’t even make the names of our events not offensive.

[Djones]

@trubandloki

Is that an acceptable phrase in a thread where the entire topic is - that word can mean something else?

Shouldn’t we come up with something else to say things are opposites?

Question from someone who is afraid to google it on their work computer - what does ‘woke’ and ‘wokeness’ mean?

“Woke” is being hyper aware to the point of absurdity with regard to discrimination, injustice, other’s pain, etc. It’s like if I ordered a black coffee and the woke girl behind me in line flipped out that I should have called it “plain coffee” because calling it black appropriate’s the word black and asserts that black means simple or unimproved and by the way I should not have thought about her as a girl because that’s a huge assumption on my privileged part and why are you even drinking coffee do you know the pain and suffering that goes into harvesting coffee and the environmental impact of shipping it around the world?

[Djones]

@Jealoushe

Oh your black friends eh, that’s a typical response to bring up the fact you have black friends.

did you check out the Instagram of youngblackequestrians? Doubt you did because you would see plenty of black equestrians are hurt by this.

And well I have a black brother in law and I asked my sister and him last night and I will share you my sisters response via screen shot. They are not horsey.

my brother in law laughed for 5 minutes and said it was totally ridiculous and completely American white privilege for these people to not understand the connotation. He’s American btw.

I asked a friend who hasn’t heard of the event before and her reaction was the same.

just because YOU don’t see the problem doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

Why are your relatives and friends opinions valid as ‘fact’ and the ‘reality of the situation’ and anyone else’s that doesn’t align with their’s, garbage?

[Djones]

https://youtu.be/8CFrCk6_0rM

I don’t think this amazing artist is signing about burning down pine trees.

[Jealoushe]

@Djones

Why are your relatives and friends opinions valid as ‘fact’ and the ‘reality of the situation’ and anyone else’s that doesn’t align with their’s, garbage?

Never said that. The argument “but I have black friends” isn’t valid. Please read:

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/for-the-umpteenth-time-having-a-black-friend-doesnt-mean-you-arent-racist_n_59948617e4b0d0d2cc83a9af?ri18n=true

https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-to-call-out-casual-racism/

https://www.diversityinc.com/i-have-black-friends-doesnt-mean-you-arent-racist/

The example I rpovided was a real example from people who aren’t horsey, and their thought on the name, including two racial backgrounds for reference.

[Djones]

@Jealoushe

Never said that. The argument “but I have black friends” isn’t valid. Please read:

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/…9af?ri18n=true

https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-to…casual-racism/

https://www.diversityinc.com/i-have-…-arent-racist/

The example I rpovided was a real example from people who aren’t horsey, and their thought on the name, including two racial backgrounds for reference.

Both of you are sharing anecdotal information, her black friends shrugged it off and your black relatives didn’t. Neither opinion is more or less real than the other. Neither is superior.

[WW_Queen]

I think the event organizers must have been looking to drop it from their roster/operating at a loss. Aside from the annoyance of rebranding, changing it to the Unionville Horse Trials (or something similar) would have been a pretty simple workaround.

[TXnGA]

@poltroon

When the name of the event is in the headline, the context of “but it’s totally okay because we don’t think this piece of land in Pennsylvania had slaves on it after it got that name” is not apparent. People hear the name of the event only. And from that, sorry everyone, the image that comes across to me is that the event is on former slaveholding land in South Carolina. It doesn’t feel comfortable. It doesn’t feel welcoming.

Words change in meaning and weight whether you like it or not. I could use the word “gay” to mean happy and lighthearted but I would be sowing confusion when I spoke of my heterosexual friend that way, or held The Gay Horse Trials.

Event names change all the time. Venues get name changes. We don’t have CTETA or Ram Tap or Rolex any more either. But there are still terrific events happening at those same venues and same dates.

As I read it, the kerfuffle started when Eventing Nation asked for the organizer’s opinion on an alternative name to use in their headline. And no one accused the owner or organizer of racism… except if anything, they have done so themselves by melting down.

There in lies the problem. EN didn’t ask the organizers to change the name. They demanded they change the name by going to the governing bodies and demanding the name be changed. EN started a war back in June on Plantation Field to force a name change. They didn’t ask for a thoughtful discussion. They tried to get people/ riders/ sponsors/ community to boycott the event to force their mindset on Plantation Field.

[Saskatoonian]

@KellyS

Why do I get the feeling that this may have been a ham-handed approach, especially by EN, to force this change? Why do I feel that this could have been handled much differently and positively, becoming an educational experience in inclusivity that didn’t end with the loss of this beautiful venue?

This point shouldn’t get lost in the substantive discussion of the merits of a name. The discussion is important and timely. It’s also important how it’s initiated and conducted and who’s included. I don’t know the players here or the details, and especially don’t know how EN approached this issue. I do know that we need to treat our landowners with respect, because let’s be real: we need them more than they need us. My sense from reading EN’s posts is that they ignored that last bit, to the detriment of the sport.

[Xctrygirl]

Fair Hill,
Menfelt,
Plantation.

DG has “died on the hill” more than once.

[Jealoushe]

@Djones

Both of you are sharing anecdotal information, her black friends shrugged it off and your black relatives didn’t. Neither opinion is more or less real than the other. Neither is superior.

Except one proves that it does bother some POC. So, that’s enough for me.

[Jealoushe]

From a POC in the sport: https://eventingnation.com/why-words-matter/

[MustangSavvy]

The only time I’ve heard the word plantation is when it is connected to slavery. Words have meaning whether or not you choose to acknowledge it. We should all be striving to make the horse world more inclusive and safe place for ALL. Changing the a name is a simple step IMO.

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/plantation-system/

[Laurierace]

By now the official email ending the lease to the property is making it’s way around social media. The wording is predictable based upon what we now know. What is interesting is the date. It was sent on Monday the 14th. Make of that what you will, but clearly Monday was before the EN post.

[trubandloki]

@Laurierace

By now the official email ending the lease to the property is making it’s way around social media. The wording is predictable based upon what we now know. What is interesting is the date. It was sent on Monday the 14th. Make of that what you will, but clearly Monday was before the EN post.

Is this to imply that we (general) thought the owner did not know about the controversy prior to the actual EN post?

My thought is that the owner has known all along and they knew that EN was making it into a big deal, even before their post.

[enjoytheride]

@TXnGA

There in lies the problem. EN didn’t ask the organizers to change the name. They demanded they change the name by going to the governing bodies and demanding the name be changed. EN started a war back in June on Plantation Field to force a name change. They didn’t ask for a thoughtful discussion. They tried to get people/ riders/ sponsors/ community to boycott the event to force their mindset on Plantation Field.

I agree. It was heavy and ham handed, demanding change by threatening a lack of coverage and boycotts. They never even bothered to ask nicely. Had this been approached differently we may have not lost a top event. There has never been an issue with the name of this event in it’s 20 years running, the name is a boy scout tree project, and the event was helping a inner city youth riding group. To flat out accuse the owner of racism was overboard. Our views on things change over time and what was acceptable might not be now. Why not ask nicely? While not accusing someone of racism?

Now those inner city children have to go elsewhere because someone woke on EN decided to handle this with a hammer. If the name indeed conjured images of racism then perhaps speak to the owners nicely, softly first?

[Laurierace]

@trubandloki

Is this to imply that we (general) thought the owner did not know about the controversy prior to the actual EN post?

My thought is that the owner has known all along and they knew that EN was making it into a big deal, even before their post.

That may be your thought but it clearly isn’t the thought of many people who assumed incorrectly that it was a kneejerk reaction to the EN post as the lease was already ended before the post was made public.

[MsRidiculous]

For those who think that asking for a name change is a gross display of “cancel culture”, what would you call it that the owner was offended about the name being questioned and thus quite literally cancelled the entire sport of eventing? Just curious.

[trubandloki]

@Laurierace

That may be your thought but it clearly isn’t the thought of many people who assumed incorrectly that it was a kneejerk reaction to the EN post as the lease was already ended before the post was made public.

I think it was a reaction to the situation, which the EN post is about. I doubt EN did all that and never said ‘we are writing a story about how you will not do what we want’.

I actually feel bad for the owners of the land here. They did nothing but lease their land for horse people to enjoy and use. Now they are getting raked over the coals. The situation is between EN and the group leasing the land for the event. Not the land owners.

[enjoytheride]

@trubandloki

I think it was a reaction to the situation, which the EN post is about. I doubt EN did all that and never said ‘we are writing a story about how you will not do what we want’.

I actually feel bad for the owners of the land here. They did nothing but lease their land for horse people to enjoy and use. Now they are getting raked over the coals. The situation is between EN and the group leasing the land for the event. Not the land owners.

Exactly, and why lease your land if this is the thanks you get? From people are are more than happy to see another horse trial die. Some people on this BB must hate eventing.