No longer silent.

 Sorry there will not be any happy pony pictures to 'lift the mood,' this is a moment of un-comfort, and everyone needs to sit in that feeling until our society begins to change. I am the smallest fish in this pond - but I keep seeing post and post about the EN issues with the Unionville event. I have many issues here but I am going to bullet point my main three:

1.  The issue that so many people seem to be overlooking is the fact the USEA were referring to the event as "The Unionville Event" and although big picture EN wanted the EVENT NAME - not the property name- changed, they requested to use a the USEA "Unionville" reference instead of Plantation... and were booted from the event.   do not question the right of the private property owner to refuse use to his land, but I do strongly support those those who are looking at the small - and yes changing the name of events is small - actionable things they can do to support the inclusion of BIPOC or at least stop glorifying the symbols of their oppression.  

Name changes happen in all sports.  Sponsors change. Locations change. Owners change.  It is a well established aspect of most major athletics that names and brands can and do change.  If the governing body of our sport starts referring to an event by a different name 1. that does not change the name of the property it is held on and 2. signals that there was an issue with the old name.  Most commonly in the sport of eventing that is a sponsorship change. The Kentucky Horse Park is still the home of the Land Rover Kentucky 5 star event just as it was home to the Rolex 5 Star, the Rolex 4 Star, or even the inaugural "World Championships."  The name of the event can change without forcing the landowner to change anything about their property.

2. I am very disappointed in the way both Boyd and Phillip responded on social media and the trickle down posts that relate right back to them.  I do not compete at the recognized level, I do not take lesson or clinic with either, so I guess my opinion means fuck all.  But both of these well recognized FOREIGN born professionals have posted on the issue coming down on the side of the landowner.  I am not normally one to make suppositions on a person based on their nationality, but I wonder if not growing up in American and moving here as part of the privileged elite has limited the scope of their ability to understand what is at play here.  I would prefer these comments to come out of a place of ignorance rather than a reasoned and well researched choice.  

In a recent conversation with friends about personally realizing or confronting our country's systemic inequalities I commented that it took me until adulthood and a job that forces me to see the struggles other people really face. In my mind I was a hard worker - picking stalls and cleaning tack to pay for extra lesson or my half lease since I was 12.  I didn't have a horse of my own, a trailer, or a truck like a lot of the teens around me.  I did not realize until well into adulthood how insulated my life was.  I never had to face real poverty, or racism because my white middle class life had very clearly protected me with privilege. I hope that the people I look up to and admire so greatly as horsemen and women just have not realized the extent that their privilege has blinded them to the injustices in our country.

3. In the effort to do "something" I am choosing to 'vote with my money.' As the smallest fish in the eventing pond, there is very little I can do to foment change. HOWEVER, we can all no matter how small support the people, publications, and companies that align with the values we speak to out side the equestrian world.  Before the Unionville debacle this meant shopping at stores that feature BIPOC in their advertising or stakeholders.  It meant writing to companies to explain why I was cancelling re-occurring orders. Now it means seeking out the supporters of people whose actions I find I unconscionable and writing to them to explain why I will no longer support their brands.  It means not shying way from having the hard discussions with friends and even strangers.  

If I have been lucky enough to have this privilege, then I need to use it to stop the abuse and degradation of my fellow countrymen.  I need to lift up their voices.  I need to support and empower these changes in all aspects of my life.