stout male slaves were called bucks. Shhhhhhhhh.
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Huh??? Bucks? Is it deer season yet?
Okā¦I get itā¦
Bucks County Horse Parkā¦ok, I admit itā¦ Iām a little slow on the double entendre hereā¦
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Yes. And the many different contexts human beings were referred to as ābucksāĀ in historical documents? Super super super hard to readā¦ and it makes me sad to think about it.
Bucks county, PA wasnāt about that type of bucks though. Just like Plantation Field, Pa, wasnāt about that type of plantation.
Morven Park on the other handā¦ wellā¦ the lived history of slaves at that specific location? Yeah. But the focus wasnāt on ābucksāĀ apparently. It was on a truly profoundly twisted sort of white privilege, and a horrible sort of suffering that young, female slaves endured there.
And yetā¦ all these proud people who seem to have sincere anti-racist convictions are busy arguing on this thread in support of their pal Leslie, and her choice to target Plantation Field this summer, as the subject of an EN editorialā¦ while simultaneously ignoring Morven Park.
The fact isā¦ that choice on ENās part was telling. It tells me they are either a bit ignorant of the history of different eventing venues, or outright disingenuous about being crusaders and advocates of greater racial sensitivity in the sport.
I know some of you are annoyed at my continued decision to poke at LW and ENā¦ and Iām sorry to have posted yet again about how annoyed I am with them. But I really think they they terribly bungled an important and very sensitive issue.
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Leslie sold her reputation down the river, and things went southā¦
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I see what you did there :lol::lol::lol:
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Iāve got more lines than Carterās got liver pills.
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Ahhhhā¦ brevity is the soul of wit! 
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Mr. Walker donated large sums of money to the Chester County Food Bank in its early years, his donations declined even as Plantation Fieldās venue for eventing improved significantly. I suspect that the food bank is going to be the big winner here. Maybe they will send a letter of thanks to USEA, USEF & EN for freeing up the funds.
My hope is that the improvements done by PFEE as a 501c3 remain. I bet he put money into it directly (see decline in amount given to the food bank even as Plantation Field became one of the best places for eventing). Maybe the local 4H, Pony Club, dog people, etc. will still be in a position to use and appreciate the site and the generosity of the owner.
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As in the CE forum when discussing similar topics, please avoid labeling other users as racists, snowflakes, etc. or otherwise getting into personal commentary. We appreciate that it can be difficult to draw that line when the issue at hand relates to how people approach these sensitive issues (so itās inherently āpersonal commentaryā), but as an overarching guideline, letās avoid being snotty to each other. And, as always, please avoid the use of profanity, per our posting policies.
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I also donāt understand why EN had to be told they were no longer welcome at Plantation Field. Shouldnāt they have boycotted covering it? Or instead of criticizing the owner/organizer for the name, why not criticize those who spent their money to compete there? If Glaccum and Walker were guilty of harming non-White riders and their families or giving offense by virtue of the name, then surely those who paid entry fees were too.
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Excellent point. They are not that invested. They would have covered it and honestly we, the general eventing public, only know of their disagreement BECAUSE they were asked to not show up. If that never happened this wouldnāt be a thing.
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There is a huge difference between naming something after a thing (which is done to celebrate that thing), and repurposing land while educating about its history.
Morven Park does not celebrate slavery. It hosts a horse trial on grounds that were historically home to slaves, and while doing so it educates visitors in an appropriate way about the history of the grounds and the lessons learned (another poster on this thread pointed out to me that the house is available for educational tours, complimentary access to which is provided to competitors, there is signage on the grounds outlining the history and what was learned, etc.)
Conversely, Plantation Field does celebrate a plantation ā in this case, a pine plantation that was installed as a service project. Maybe not the kind of plantation that springs to mind for many people, but it was named in celebration of a plantation. If I were the owner, I would be concerned that people might think I was celebrating the other kind of plantation (and would consider a name change as a result), but of course Iām not the owner. What is not up for debate, however, is that Plantation Field was so named to celebrate a plantation.
They didnāt have a problem with the event itself, they were concerned with the name of the event. As is their right (Iām paraphrasing @pluvinel here ā their blog, their rules), they elected not to print the name on their blog, and reached out to the event to discuss potential alternative nomenclature (ex. calling it āUnionvilleāĀ, as the FEI does). When the event received that request, they barred EN from attending, as is THEIR right (their event, their rules). Since it would be odd for EN not to cover an event of that caliber, they addressed it on their blog, and now we are all here.
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Not plantations. A pine plantation service project.
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āThey didnāt have a problem with the event itself, they were concerned with the name of the eventā
I view that as very hypocritical of them. If it was so important that the name be changed that they would take it up with USEA, USEF & PFEE then they should have set aside their profit margin and stood aside. They wanted everyone else to risk their investment and capital in the event but they didnāt hold themselves to the same standard - nor did they risk the courage of their convictions.
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āMorven Park does not celebrate slavery.ā
Neither does Plantation Field.
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These people, man, the disingenuous semantic games are just wacky.
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I totally agreeā¦āTheir Blog - Their Rulesāā¦but EN went much beyond the bounds of their own publication when they started to make demands on others.
I would say that EN did much more than simply ask PFEE what to call or how to refer to the Plantation Field event in their publication.
According to COTH, EN threatened escalation if the organizer and owner did not comply with their demands.
https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/name-controversy-ends-plantation-field-events
In June, writers from eventing blog EventingNation.com approached the U.S. Eventing Association and Jenni Autry, the USEF managing director of eventing, about concerns over the connotations of the name due to the word plantation and its association with slavery. USEA leadership began looking into the issue, though the organization does not license or approve events; the USEF does.
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[B]On Aug. 19, Eventing Nation editor Leslie Wylie took the topic to Denis Glaccum, organizer and owner of Plantation Field Equestrian Events.
Glaccum and Walker did not agree to change the name of the 300-acre site, which has been in the Walker family for generations.[/B]
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Wylie said they tried to go through official channels and pursue the most diplomatic route. āENās actions and communications in this situation were consistently chosen with the goal of minimizing negative escalation and maximizing the potential for a positive change,āĀ she said. āWe, like many in our community, are extremely disappointed in the end result. If the eventās stakeholders feel attacked, I think that is more a testament to the divisive and polarizing culture we live in than to our specific communications with them.āĀ
When Wylie informed Glaccum that the websiteās writers would no longer refer to the event as Plantation Field, they were asked not to attend or cover the competition. USEA and USEF officials have made no formal announcements about how they will refer to the event, but the USEF sent out a press release on Sept. 3 initially using the word Unionville, then later correcting it to say Plantation Field.
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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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Nuance is a thing. Going against my better judgement, apparently in CE if one uses a word that a banned poster does it must mean your that poster Ć°Åøā¢ā. Clearly nuance Isnāt a thing here.
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So this thing about the hard abolitionist area got me thinking. Are you saying that because there were abolitionists in Chester County there were no bigots? At all? Ever?
By that logic if there were KKK Klaverns in Chester County in the late 1920ās, then everyone in the county was a bigot? All of them?
Probably not. Chester County has had a complicated history with regards to race.
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As I said previously in this thread, we should halt all eventing, sport, hell, all living in nations that fail to meet the 2020 moral purity test.
Because this is silly season.
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