Marilyn Little competes in the show jumping phase of the four star competition at a past Plantation Field International.
The 13th Annual Plantation Field International Three Day Event held in September in Unionville, PA, will apparently be the last following controversy over its name.
The owner of the property cancelled the lease with the organization that runs the event after an eventing publication charged the word “plantation” has “painful and racist connotations” for people of color.
Denis Glaccum, president of Plantation Field Equestrian Events, Inc. (PFEE) said in a press release that the property owner, Cuyler Walker, has “with great regret cancelled our lease for the property.”
“This is directly due to the attack on the name ‘Plantation’ by Eventing Nation, an equestrian online news journal. EN and their editors approached the equestrian media and the United States Eventing Association in June 2020 to state that they felt the name ‘Plantation’ was insensitive to people of color,” the statement said.
Glaccum said a major factor in the owner’s decision to terminate the lease was his feeling that he and his family were being called racist. Contacted during the event, Glaccum said he was unable to comment further in time for publication.
In a Facebook post, EN said its intention was “to open a discussion, guided by the governing organizations, to make sure diverse BIPOC (an acronym for black indigenous people of color) would be welcomed and included in every area of eventing.”
The History
The event organizer’s press release said Plunket Stewart, who purchased the land in the early twentieth century, allowed the Boy Scouts to plant hedges and trees in the 1930s.
“Colonial Pennsylvania considered properties less than 100 acres a farm and properties with more than 100 acres a plantation. There is no reference to race in this definition. The Unionville area is historically a Quaker community and part of the underground railroad. The Quakers were one of the earliest abolitionist groups and fought against slavery,” the press release said.
Merriam Webster defines plantation as (1) a usually large group of plants and especially trees under cultivation; (2) a settlement in a new country or region; (3a) a place that is planted or under cultivation; (3b) an agricultural estate usually worked by resident labor.
EN surveyed equestrians of color who were uncomfortable with the word. “One was asked to groom there by a friend and agreed to go, resigned to the fact that ‘horse people just don’t understand’ why the word plantation does not conjure up a peaceful, pleasant scene. Asking people of color to visit, spectate, volunteer, or compete at a place called Plantation is insensitive at best and works against our efforts to implement more diversity in the sport,” the post said.
“It was not our place to put them on the spot or ask them to let us drag experiences into the public eye,” EN editor in chief Leslie Wylie said. “It’s not fair to put the burden of change on people of color, but the responsibility of white people to also see the issues and put themselves in uncomfortable positions.”
Wiley wrote in an email that she was not aware of the origin of the name until after she had raised the issue with the USEA and USEF. “People have been very quick to jump in and say, ‘but this wasn't actually a traditional plantation, it has this other backstory’. You can't just put an asterisk beside it and in fine print be like 'no it's THIS kind of plantation, not THAT kind of plantation.' And how would you know that unless you researched it?”
Wylie said EN first contacted USEF and USEA. When the conversation stalled about a month before the event they contacted PFEE, “not about changing the name but about exploring an alternative way to refer to it. They were totally unwilling to engage in a conversation. Instead they banned us from attending or covering the event.”
USEF Director of Communications Carly Weilminster said the organization had not received any complaints about the name other than from EN.
PF is one of several FEI level competitions licensed by the USEF each year. In 2019, PF held four of the nation’s 130 licensed eventing competitions/horse trials.
EN wrote, “The loss of this event is a significant one for our sport.”
USEF CEO Bill Moroney wrote, “US Equestrian has no authority over event or venue names, but we understand and agree with the serious concerns given the history associated with the word plantation. USEF is examining our existing licensing policies with respect to events and names which could be offensive.”
Low Level Events Too
In addition to the FEI level event, PF has traditionally hosted a number of lower level events and horse trials.
Olympic veteran Phillip Dutton, whose True Prospect Farm is just down the road from Plantation Field, wrote in a Facebook post: “It has really saddened me to see what Plantation Field, Cuyler Walker and our sport is going through. Over the last fifteen years PF has developed into an incredible venue that has given horses and riders of all ages and experience some great memories from the Beginner Novice Starter Trials up to the Plantation International. My horses and students have benefitted immensely from their time on this venue and its cancellation will be an enormous loss to the eventing community. There is no question for me that having more racial diversity in our sport should be one of the sport’s goals. It is something that Evie and I have worked on and felt strongly about for some time. Our everyday actions are more important than names, and I am confident that Plantation has proven its good intentions by its actions in the past.”
The Future
USEA CEO Rob Burk and USEA President Max Corcoran provided this statement:
"Having this historic competition close isn't the right result for the sport, and the USEA is working hard to find a solution. The organizer and landowners operate exceptional events on a beautiful piece of land. We are deeply sensitive to the history of the word ‘plantation’ and its connection to slavery; however, this property has no known connections to slavery and was instead named after 'plantings' on the property. We understand that neither the organizer nor the landowners have ever intended to cause any discomfort related to the name of the event and to imply otherwise is a disservice to our organizers, landowners, and our sport. The USEA does not have the ability to require an event to change its name as we are required to carry the USEF licensed name of the competition on our calendar of events. However, we are hopeful that an acceptable solution to this issue can be reached."
Weilminster stated, “We are working with the USEA to address the implications of the loss of this event and will collaborate together on potential solutions as we look at the upcoming 2021 competition calendar.”