really devon? y’all are (or were?) running puppy what exactly at the devon fall classic?

Posted on September 14, 2025 by carla

I can’t even begin to explain how this hit me when I saw these photos from the Devon Fall Classic. I mean seriously, what in the Sam Hell, Devon?

If you put the number on the sign into social media and Google, this is what comes up:

Ok so now that this is sinking in I respectfully ask Easttown Township and Devon Horse Show to explain. People are saying puppies may also have been being sold along with the snuggles being sold? And it’s not a rescue in there, it’s this rando breeder? Puppies are standing on wire mesh in crates? For real? You know that hurts their little paws? And this has been happening the entire fall classic?

People said shih tzus and mini poodles on Thursday? Friday also had miniature dachshunds? Today and Saturday a bunch of breeds? They keep the blinds closed and this woman stands in the door collecting the money so you really have to pay to play?

Seriously what IS going on? Are pet shops allowed as boutiques now?

Shame on you and are you that in need or desperate of filling the selling / retail huts?

I am sure there are people thinking I am making this up. Please see photos received this morning:

Oh and now more and more people are commenting (just sharing a couple of comments because they were all kind of similar:

I also pulled the vendors that Devon advertised, and can you find puppy anything? So this was a last minute addition? WHO MADE THIS DECISION?

I have to ask did any of the other vendors there say anything? How can anyone think this is OK?

This is the link to Devon leadership: https://www.devonhorseshow.net/about/leadership/

If I had to hazard a guess since quite a few of the names are familiar with me, most did not know this puppy thing was happening. However, the chair is all over the events all of the time, so what does he know? Will he address it? And there are TWO show managers listed on Devon’s website, and one would think they had knowledge? Will they address this? And who was on the volunteer committee putting this together this year? I mean if you have worked on volunteer committees, and I have, aren’t you kind of told what is going on and who is going where?

How can ANY of these people have thought it was OK? This is NOT OK!!!

#puppiesarenotproducts

Devon Horse Show thought this was OK? Who brought these people in? This is so not OK in my opinion. Puppies in crates for random people to paw and even possibly buy? Like they are a plastic souvenir from the event?

Seeing these photos took me back to 2010 when the state dog law people busted the guy with puppies at the then Zerns Market which used to be in Gilbertsville. Zerns closed a few years back. And I actually saw the puppies there at Zerns which were essentially on display in things that looked like aquariums. For real. And back then the puppies were stressed and suffering from the unbearable heat in the place and their containers. That was actually one of the only couple of times I went to Zerns because the place always had a creepy vibe. My one friend and I went there only because there was a dealer who sold Minnetonka moccasins.

Pet shop owner guilty of animal cruelty

One article from the fall of 2010. There were a few at the time

All I know is seeing things like this makes me sad and wish for the Devon a lot of us knew as kids. Where did that organization go? The organization that recognized the value in adopt don’t shop?

Even Radnor Hunt stopped having rescue dogs at their events many many years ago because it’s stressful for them to be at large events like this didn’t they?

So I guess the Devon Fall Classic is literally almost over for 2025 as I publish. That however, does not negate the fact that Devon and the Chair and the Fall Classic committee have explaining to do. And apologies to make. I also wonder if anyone went to them even when the show started about this? I mean did they think people would all just look the other way?

My sources tell me area rescues are not happy about any of this and can you blame them?

Another source told me that the puppy booth as they called it appears to have been shut down. I have no other information – they just happened to be there – they were visiting some other business with one of those other booth/huts at the show. And for those giving me a hard time about how it was my job to call the SPCA about this a couple of points to note including the fact that the SPCA can’t do anything here. It’s the dog law enforcement people and well are they still awake and active?

https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pda/animals/bureau-of-dog-law-enforcement

But Devon leadership and the Fall Classic committee? You have explaining to do and PUBLIC apologies to make in my humble opinion. Of course my other opinion is this is another reason why maybe it is time for new leadership at Devon?

I would like to hope Devon is worth saving, but when crap like this happens, it makes you wonder. But when you seem to focus on adult beverages a lot at these family friendly events, who knows? If Devon goes forward into the future it would be nice if they gave rescues a table or something near the shops and food where rescues could rotate in and out with volunteers and literature (not animals.)

Very sad turn of events. And I am sure Devon doesn’t care for my opinions and the opinions of others, but they really shouldn’t just try to ignore this and hope it goes away, yes?

so “yuletide” is moving…

Posted on September 8, 2024 by carla

The screenshot opening this post is when I first found out that Yuletide was leaving Devon .

Now Savvy Main Line has given us the scoop:

With high hopes, lessons learned and some debts still owed, Yuletide festival moves from Devon to Liberty Hill

Yuletide has left the Main Line and will leapfrog the river to Lafayette Hill.

After considering Valley Forge Military Academy, Cabrini and Eastern College, Yuletide’s father-son founders, Rob and Jes Bickhart, inked a deal with the last venue they toured: Union League Liberty Hill golf club…. “If we had to do it over, would we have gone to the Devon Horse Show? Probably not,” Jes Bickhart tells SAVVY….A warm-weather venue, Devon required pricey winterizing and was simply too big, he says. Devon is 15 acres; Liberty Hill is five.

The smaller footprint “allows us to maximize our holiday decorations,” Bickhart says.

Having only 500 people at Yuletide Devon on a weeknight felt desolate. “But 500 people on a Wednesday night at the Union League will feel cozy,” he enthuses.

There have been rumblings that Devon’s brass was unhappy with Yuletide.

Sources shared concerns about the festival’s white “snow” cover and the possibility of broken glass from a wine vendor (glass is a no-no near horse show rings) affecting horses’ footing. Guaranteeing horse safety is critical to a show of Devon’s caliber.

But the horse show’s leadership has mostly refused comment.

“They had a one-year lease and we wish them well,” is about all Devon Horse Show President/CEO Wayne Grafton would tell us on the record….As for those other rumblings, i.e. that Yuletide didn’t draw the expected crowds and, as a result, couldn’t pay some contractors, Bickhart admits they’re true.

Yuletide attracted 80,000 people last year – a far cry from the Bickharts’ anticipated 120,000+. “But we owe our contractors “hundreds of thousands of dollars, not millions.” And no one has sued, he says.

SAVVY interviewed multiple, behind-the-scenes event production contractors who told us they weren’t paid in full – one even created the fictitious email account “Christmas Justice” to talk to us. But no one would go the record and one source retracted her words altogether.

According to Bickhart, Yuletide did $3 million in revenue last year and anyone who wasn’t paid in full is now being paid in installments….The festivals’ investors have not yet been paid, he says. Most are deep-pocketed Main Line associates of Rob Bickhart, who belongs to the Union League. “We’re on good terms with our investors,” says his son.

Several things stick out at first and foremost is what was said in the Philadelphia last year when this event was debuting at Devon horse show :

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2023/09/12/yuletide-at-devon-holiday-festival-debut.html

So how does having a three-year agreement go to a one year lease?

I always wondered when it came to this if they set themselves up to fail at Devon or Devon set them up to fail?

I know when it was announced last year that the equestrian community was kind of up in arms about it because of the importance of the ring to the actual Devon Horse Show.

At first, I was excited at the idea of this because I love Christmas markets. I love Christmas things. I love Christmas. I love Christmas decorations. I love vintage and antique Christmas. Etc etc.

But then we learned how much it would cost to go and then we found out that parking was you know like $50 a car. Tickets to enter were also not inexpensive- they were $34.99 for adults last year and tickets for children ages 3 through 8 were advertised at like $22.99, while children under the age of 3 got in free. Season passes were available for $89.99 for an adult and $59.99 for juniors. And then there was parking gouging wasn’t there?

As a friend of mine noted:

Plus they initially charged 50 bucks for parking (later lowered to $30) . That’s what the horse show now charges, which is ridiculous for the horse show as well. But the horse show is the oldest in the country and benefits Bryn Mawr Hospital as its largest donor. Yuletide at Devon is a strictly for-profit endeavor.

And that always bothered me is that they were doing this and charging these prices and there was no nonprofit component. something at Christmas, you expect to have some sort of a nonprofit component don’t you ? It’s the season of giving except for these people it was the season of giving to themselves, apparently wasn’t it ?

Other people remarked that it was the kind of event the people who like to see themselves on Instagram took selfies for. Christmas and the holidays isn’t about social media influencers. I mean, it’s nice to see everybody’s holiday photos but that’s not what we’re talking about here, we’re talking about “influencers.”

I wrote about this event three times.

bah humbug in the 19333.

what would charles dickens think?

not being a grinch, so stop criticizing my commentary

To sum it all up: I kept trying to look for reasons to like this event. I love Christmas, I wanted to love this event. I tried to keep an open mind but the event couldn’t get out of their own way.

I knew vendors, I could have gone for free, but every time I heard a review from personal friends who ponied up their Christmas gold to go, reviews were lukewarm to disastrous to flat out negative.

There were plenty of fluffy social media reviews from wannabe and self proclaimed influencers who like always we’re there for the free, and the selfies. And then there were the influencer adjacent like certain classes of professionals and service providers who thought they had to write puffy fluffy posts when the real time chatter was they didn’t actually have a good time were the way to go…maybe they should have just been honest? I mean do they think people don’t talk when they say they had a crap time but post it was a good as the Rockettes or something?

And that was what was so amusing to me about Yuletide – there was so much whispering behind hands. Much as is the case with Devon Horse Show today. Why not just be honest? Life is expensive at times, as well as short. Why not just say how you feel even if not 100% positive? And that is such a social media thing: unicorns farting rainbows only. Ever.

So other things. After Yuletide at Devon was done people started about the condition of the inside of the ring at Devon Horse Show. They call that the footing right? Is it true that this had to be pulled out and replaced? That is very expensive if true isn’t it?

And did they have to really use magnets to make sure there were no metal bits where expensive horses were eventually to tread?

Also when people have money you expect them to pay their bills right? So that means paying the service people and vendors right? This was like a cashless event, so you swiped and paid for everything except each vendor did not have their own point of sale did they? Money went to Yuletide and Yuletide paid out after? Or didn’t so much as per Savvy? Can you imagine being a small business and still not being paid what is owed even now? After shelling out to be a part of it?

People also constantly commented how empty the event was, even during times it was free.

Now Yuletide’s moving to a Union League owned golf club for 2024- it’s now Yuletide at Union League Liberty Hill, 800 Ridge Pike, Lafayette Hill. AKA “the other side of the river” and I think that is what I once knew as the ACE Golf Club. It’s not particularly easy nor convenient to get to unless you live over in that section of Montgomery County. Ticket prices are dropped sort of but I am still left with the “meh” of it all.

I am amused by the categorization of the investors by Yuletide’s owners. How long do they expect the investors to be understanding?

Also I noted something else interesting that they said to Savvy:

And if all goes well, the Philly burbs will be just the beginning. The two hope to bring Yuletide to Pittsburgh and Washington, DC next year.

So like Sesame Place but Christmas? Okayyyy (tacky much?)

Also at the bottom of the website for Yuletide it says “Spectacle Reality Inc”? What’s that?

Can’t find much….

https://www.jesbickhart.com/

https://www.bizapedia.com/de/spectacle-reality-inc.html

https://importkey.com/i/spectacle-reality-inc

I hope people enjoy themselves if they give Yuletide another go in Lafayette Hill this year but I still don’t think it’s worth it for me. Too many unanswered questions. Too much about the money and not the season.

I will continue to highlight true holiday traditions and events.

Thank you Savvy for the write up and of course this news once again brings up all of the questions swirling around Devon Horse Show and leadership doesn’t it?

bah humbug in the 19333.

Posted on September 16, 2023 by carla

Oh well.

I was actually excited about this. I thought how nice to be able to have one of those fun Christmas markets not too far away.

I figured there would be an admittance charge, but I figured it would be along the lines of Christkindlmarkt in Bethlehem which is amazing, incidentally. Their tickets in Bethlehem are around $10 – $12 per day, and a little bit expensive more with fees if you buy at the gate.

But it is Devon so I should have known it would have gold plated pricing. essentially it’s $35 a day per person for adults or a $90 “season pass” for adults. Kids are $23 a day or $60 for their “season.”

Sorry, not sorry, but I think that is too expensive. And I love Christmas and vintage Christmas in particular.

Also, real European Christmas markets actually don’t charge people to wander through.

And everyone knows that it’s not an inexpensive proposition to be a vendor at any Devon event. I do genuinely feel this is an amazingly good idea, and I love Christmas markets, I think I will stick with the markets I know better.

I would rather buy a ticket for example to go to Life’s Patina, for their holiday fun. At least, then I know what I am supporting exactly and they pick amazing non-profits. I will also be thrilled to go to the Surrey Services Holiday House Tour as well.

I am really bummed because I really thought this would be kind of cool, but for $35 to walk in the door and then the markup that the vendors will have to have I just don’t see that it’s worth it for me personally. But maybe I will check it out.

I will note this is NOT a Devon event. The people putting it on are a private group. 20 investors underwriting this. I still think the ticket costs are too much.

My final comment is they should offer local residents a discount.

Happy Saturday all!

in case devon horse show has any rain/thunderstorm delays and you need something to read…..best served with devon popcorn (naturellement)….

Posted on June 2, 2022 by carla

Well here we are, I guess a good way through Devon Horse Show and low and behold I received an email gift today: the filing against Eastown Township by The Devon Horse Show. The Right to Know Requests are being answered. Here is the original filing:

Devon-Litigation-2022_redacted Download

But it’s been a minute so I also checked the Chester County court docket. And guess what? Found something interesting. “Removal to U.S. District Court”?

So what does this mean? The term “Removal” is the process of transferring a lawsuit filed in state court (or in this case, Chester County Court) to the United States District Court with jurisdiction over the same area. A defendant can remove a case from state to federal court by filing a notice of removal in federal court and then notifying the state court and the other parties. That means….yup….this Devon Case is now in fed court. Probably makes it more expensive too?

United-States-District-Court-Eastern-District-of-Pennsylvania-1 Download

Yes, I have the filing, and will post it. But first the judge. The Honorable Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro. It will be very interesting to see what she thinks of Devon’s litigation, don’t you think? She was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2012. She was confirmed in June, 2013. Here is a little video of her induction day:

From Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts:

Nitza Ileana Quiñones Alejandro is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She is the first openly lesbian Latina to serve as a United States federal judge. She was also the first Latina to serve on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
~ Pennsylvanians for modern courts

She is an interesting judge, and from what I have seen from researching her cases, fair, thoughtful, and equitable. I can’t help but wonder what she will think of Devon Horse Show’s litigation against Easttown. Will she see it as first world problems?

The thing about this case that I find curious me is the assertion by Devon Horse Show that Easttown Township has violated the 1st Amendment vis-à-vis the freedom of assembly and speech, and am I the only one? For me it is also amusing because one of Devon’s lawyers in this case is the very same person who wanted to deprive me of my 1st Amendment Rights in the Bishop Tube SLAPP suit where I was the named resident. (Eventually that was tossed. In county court and superior court.)

So how has Easttown Township actually violated the 1st Amendment? Are they saying to Devon Horse Show no you can’t have the horse show? I mean obviously not, because Devon is going on now, right? Is this in fact, all about what Devon has to pay for Easttown Township goods and services? How is asking an organization to pay for the municipal services it will be using for a special event wrong? Are the taxpayers of Easttown just supposed to foot the really big bill?

Get your Devon Horse Show Popcorn ready, this will be interesting….

May-Devon-Fed-Court-v-Easttown-1 Download

it’s devon time

Posted on May 27, 2022 by carla

*A stormy Devon day of a few years ago.*

Yes Devon has started.

No, I am not going.

Yes you know it’s Devon when it’s raining. And there are severe thunderstorm warnings.

Devon used to be (first of all) about the pretty horses and talented riders, “Devon burgers”, lemon sticks, original Devon fudge, a few vendors (a lot of whom were local antiques dealers and the Bryn Mawr Hospital Thrift Shop had a shop in that little old structure that looks like a cross between a little cottage and a spring house), of course the Ferris wheel and seeing the truly amazing volunteers like the late (and great) Betty Moran. Mrs. Moran for so many years was one of the first faces you saw when coming through the gates.

Devon was also about being with friends and family, not wearing overpriced heels and pretentiously trying to out do each other in a hat contest that went from lovely and ladylike to somewhat ridiculous yet amusing watching some of them negotiate the gravel ground surface without getting too many pebbles in their designer high heeled sandals.

What did we wear back in the day on our feet? Well my friends who were competing were either in their super shiny show boots, or their muck boots and even sneakers while they were waiting. We wore closed toe espadrilles or things like Papagallo flats (remember the ones that had the flowers on them?), clogs, sneakers. If we dressed up it was original Lilly or maybe Vested Gentress. Maybe a skirt and a top, maybe a sun dress. A lot of times since it can be cold and damp and rainy during Devon, it was jeans and a shirt. And it was so exciting as a kid to sit in the boxes in the evening with the grown ups!

Some overnight placed media story talked about how excited they were that there were “over 100 vendors.“ That’s not why we used to go to Devon. Yes going through the little shops was nice but it wasn’t the main focus of the event. Nor were high-end coffee booths and lots and lots of alcohol. Sure people always had wine, champagne, and cocktails in the evenings in their booths but it wasn’t that much of a focus it was just part of a picnic.

And I must take a moment to clarify what I said regarding “100 vendors” because a woman who describes herself as a “professional volunteer” and “works” for Devon sent in a comment:

It is never a guarantee that the Clydesdales will come. There are fewer teams that travel across the country. And you were incorrect about the 100 vendors. That was what the buyer for souvenirs said relating to her suppliers for the booth.
~ Lisa L.

My thoughts kind of remain the same Ok so 100 vendors of chatchkes. Same point holds: not why people used to go to Devon. And would love to know how many years have the Clydesdales missed coming to Devon then? Because they lived in the barn of someone I know for a week when they went to Radnor Hunt, so they managed to go there but not stay to open Devon? And if you are such a rah rah for Devon and the Chairman, why didn’t any of you honor the long time volunteer who died not so long ago? Didn’t see anything come across the social media channels or on the website?

I don’t go to Devon at present because I mourn what it has become. I also don’t like the fact that there seems to be more emphasis on the fair side and not as much emphasis on the horse side.

And also this year I think it pretty much sucks that the Clydesdales won’t be there.

I also hope the police are helping people with traffic? It is of course some thing a lot of us are wondering given the litigation filed by Devon horse show against Easttown Township right?

Someday I will go back to enjoying Devon. But I think there will need to be a new regime in place first. And hopefully it’s not a question of if but when as far as that goes.

much ado again…and again….and again….about devon horse show

Posted on May 5, 2022 by carla

Apparently, dark days have returned to the Devon Horse Show?

With regard to The Devon Horse Show there is always SO much floating around in the past few years, and it makes you wonder because when it comes to Devon and drama, the truth is always stranger than fiction, correct? We’ve already had years of the reported “punisher” when it comes to boxes, yes? Who stays, who goes, who gets moved?

And then there was what REALLY was the truth last year with the cancelling of Devon? Was that US Equestrian or Devon?

One hears so many things, right? Like stuff about the intricacies of hiring police to do traffic control which I might add they HAVE to do, and they should say THANK YOU? I mean let’s get real: nouveau Devon has quite the emphasis on cocktails, doesn’t it?

Then there is the whole who would benefit if Devon ever failed? And the biggest Clydesdale in the room for a few years of WHO WOULD BENEFIT IF THEY HAD TO SELL THE LAND AND WOULD IT BE DEVELOPED?

Why does everything about Devon always feel like Main Line Watergate?

Somewhere in heaven the late great Michael Morrison is shaking his head, isn’t he?

It seems like under the current regime, there is always something newer and more jackassy than the last time we heard anything

So lo and behold, as the court dockets did tell so very recently, Devon Horse Show is suing Easttown Township and Caroline O’Halloran and Savvy have all of the gory details and here is an excerpt:

Devon Horse Show sues Easttown

MAY 5, 2022 / BY CAROLINE O’HALLORAN

I guess I should remind Devon Horse Show that the First Amendment works both ways, right? That I can have my opinions and share media resources of prior articles on THEM? That I can say something here smells like a pile of manure in August?

Ok Devon Horse Show, what’s REALLY going on? For real, for real? And the free speech component? Well that made me laugh out loud because Lamb McErlane are the attorneys, as in the Bishop Tube Slapp Suit attorneys. And one of the other attorneys in particular? Well he was in the news a few years ago over some business over fees, correct? Truthfully I would love to read the complaint, anyone have it?

So we can hypothesize over Devon’s impetus but it comes down to money and it’s not just Easttown’s fees is it? Is there more? There HAS to be more, right? Because one can’t HELP but wonder if this is part of a larger campaign to shutter the horse show and sell the land?

happy anniversary devon horse show!

Posted on February 28, 2022 by carla

Devon Horse Show is celebrating their 125th birthday! It’s a great milestone considering all the hoopla the past few years, right? (You still have to imagine what we didn’t hear about and continue to not hear about, don’t you?)

And yes, technically it is year 126. COVID19 etc. caused the actual anniversary year to get canceled.

But oh my gosh and by golly, those platinum ticket prices are extraordinary, aren’t they? It’s being held at Merion Cricket Club? Better be some gold plated filet mignon, eh? Can they pay in bitcoin?

*From then125 in 2021 that got COVID canceled*

But there is limited availability, so best snap up those tickets. $450 for the big kids and $400 for young friends under 35 ? Young Friends tickets are usually more reasonable in price with more of a price gap between them and regular tickets, traditionally. Guess the Molly Mark-up who set the price gouging here is hoping for lots of corporate tables at $10,000?

Who would have thunk it: Academy Ball prices for a horse show gala and it’s not even white tie. It’s just plain old black tie. And as of now, we all know what happened to the Academy Ball, remember? Sadly went the way of the dinosaurs for now, didn’t it ?

And Wayne G? Buddy, Merion Cricket always offers valet for events.

For these prices, here’s hoping Devon Horse Show & Country Flailing has planned a nice matching platinum sponsored forensic audit covering the last couple of decades of finances and spending, eh?

If I were on the committee for this gala event, I would not hold it at Merion Cricket Club. For an event like this, it is out of the element of the actual horse show and horse. And rather pedestrian, even if lovely for a party.

If I were on the committee, my first choice would to put up tents in the oval and have this gala AT the horse show. That provides so many more options, like bringing the extra special VIP guests to the party via carriages, which would meet them slightly away from where valet would be (so as to not spook the horses since people seem to have forgotten how to act around horses when in a vehicle). Or I would hold such an event at The Radnor Hunt, which is the perfect setting as well for such a gala. And in that case, it would also benefit another beloved equestrian location/tradition. That is win-win.

I would also adjust the ticket prices. It might be a gala, but better to adjust down so not to offend supporters in a time where the economy has been up and down.

Have a swanky party Devon, and one last question: are horse show boxes for the upcoming season the party favors?

Cheers!

more devon drama: much ado about devon

Posted on April 25, 2021 by carla

Yes, I put up this comment. Because that is how I feel. The drama around Devon is seemingly endless…and the intrigue. And to me it does feel (right or wrong) like a Main Line Watergate.

And maybe some of y’all don’t like me saying that, and truly I don’t care.

Do any of you have ANY idea how many contact me about Devon? And how many of those people are contacting me for me to contact media on their behalf with whatever it is they are telling me? And then there is the telling me not to tell them who they are?

No, I won’t discuss who is contacting me, I have honor and a sense of right and wrong. But I can’t tell the story for all of you. When I try to explain that, and explain I can’t just pass what they tell me along unsourced from anonymous sources, I am accused of being hostile.

That’s not hostility, I am being honest and blunt. This is not my story. I pretty much stopped going to Devon consistently in 2012 because I didn’t like what even I was seeing.

In my opinion, the cracks have been showing for years but I actually think now the event and event week is in serious trouble. What happens when one of these events isn’t held for a certain number of consecutive years?

Maybe some don’t like my opinion but it has always been my opinion that if Devon Horse Show failed it would just be a big development site.

This is the corporate board:

This is the foundation board, etc:

I will be honest and say that I don’t understand the cross-pollination between the boards. I also am of the opinion the boards should NOT have the same chairman. I am also of the opinion (and I am allowed to think it) that a lot of the issues surrounding the Devon horse show involve the chairman, correct??

And the chairman (yes, I am using a lowercase C because I don’t think he deserves the upper-case C), seems to wield such power? Why is he the all powerful Oz? Do we not remember about the wizard behind the curtain ending up exposed and not being what they thought he was? Or the tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes?

I have heard all the stories, so has most of the local media. Yet nothing changes at Devon and every time something is written about Devon it’s less and less positive isn’t it? The last negativity was the show being canceled again. I wrote about this as well as quite a few media sources and equestrian blogs.

Then recently, Savvy Main Line dished Devon again:

📌With so many accusations and dark theories floating around, Devon Horse Show and Country Fair felt the need to issue not one, but two statements explaining its decision to cancel the show for the second straight year……..Others suspect the show, twice cancelled, might never return. Hadn’t it outgrown its tight quarters? Legacy shows are a dying breed and the demise of Devon was inevitable, wasn’t it? Might the board vote to keep the country fair in Devon, move the horse show elsewhere and sell the horse grounds to developers and should we proactively seek an easement to prevent development of the land? Isn’t there a USEF rule that nixes horse shows that are cancelled two years in a row? COVID was an act of God, but still…📌

There is all this back-and-forth and somewhere in there lies the truth. And the people who want the show to go on are contacting bloggers like me and local media like Savvy and similar people. We are all being told the same thing. But we are also all being told that we can’t disclose their names and can we pass it on to other media but still we can’t disclose names. It doesn’t work like that.

I have spent the better part of the past few days feeling like deep throat out of Watergate. Yes, a 1972 reference to the informant who shared with Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein all the Watergate stuff. Woodward and Bernstein were reporters for the Washington Post.

I can’t tell this complete story. Savvy and other local media can’t tell this complete story. The people who know the story have to step forward out of the shadows and into the light and tell the story. They have to stand behind the story they want everyone else to take the risk to tell.

I’m not trying to be mean, but these people whom I actually believe to be in the know, have to decide if they wish to hang onto moldering boxes for a dying event, or if they want to come forward for the greater good to save and preserve this tradition for future generations?

Now before everyone gets all up in arms over that statement I know everyone can’t come forward. But I do know that some people can come forward. And at this point the kind of have to. If people don’t come forward and everything is anonymous tip, nothing will change.

Does the chairman actually have power over these people or do they just allow him to have perceived power over them? What happens if people come forward and tell the truth and shame the devil?

I get harassed by someone every time I write about this topic or refer to something someone else has written. As a matter of fact I get harassed about more than I tell my readers about. I am kind of getting tired of miserable people. Today I had someone tell me I was being hostile because I refused to carry their water over Devon.

And then there was the person who had to give me hell because I described the rotting colonial era farmhouse that is part of the Clews & Strawbridge property which sells boats in Frazer as being “demolition by neglect“ when that’s exactly what it is and I’m entitled to that opinion. “Who told you to say that?” they said. I mean do they have eyes in their head? Can they not see what that house looks like? And they were going to “report me”; and then got mad because I asked if they were going to report me to the opinion police because what I stated it was in fact, my opinion.

Also today? The crack pots who think people are being racist and putting forward social injustices by using the word thug with regard to invasive plants. Thug plants is something commonly said with regard to invasive plants. It’s all about the context of how a word is used. In this context the word thug is being used to describe aggressive, invasive plants. Said plants don’t get hurt feelings, don’t feel racism. People feel and experience racism, but not in the context of plants. Therefore I personally must be racist and intolerant because I think their argument over the term plant thugs is utterly ridiculous.

There is an abundance of keyboard warriors since the onset of COVID. Basically they want to tell everybody how to think, how to act, how to feel, and when to do all of the above. But they don’t want to get involved. They can’t just bitch at me and actual media sources all of the time. Sometimes we can tell your story, or part of your story, but ultimately it’s not our tale to tell. It’s yours,

Some things around Devon horse show I think that might be worth talking about is doing something like maybe create a community trust to buy the land and run Devon Horse Show in perpetuity. This isn’t my idea, this is a friend of mine‘s idea who pointed out that the football team the Green Bay Packers are owned by this type of trust. They also made the salient point that there’s more than enough money in this area to do that. And if they could raise $900,000 or whatever the amount was to try to put the horse show on this year in like 12 hours, why couldn’t they do something like this?

I do think in the short term the people who know board members need to start working those board members. There needs to be a separation of church and state immediately of the corporate board and the foundation board. And these boards shouldn’t have the same chairman. And more of both boards needs to be able to think and act independently of the chairman, correct?

Devon needs another palace coup or in my opinion this downward spiral might not stop. But the “insiders” need to step forward to do this if they really want change. Bloggers and the most local of media can’t do this for y’all. You need to step forward and tell your story.

Here is some of the Devon crap of the past few years:

Inquirer: Devon Horse Show chairman resigns amid development debate by By Tricia L. Nadolny, Inquirer Staff Writer
Published Mar 2, 2014

Racked Philadelphia: Controversy Puts Urban Outfitters’ New Lifestyle Center on Pause By Julie Davis Mar 4, 2014, 10:29am EST

Anonymous letter spurs questions over Devon Horse Show, proposed Devon Yard, Urban Outfitters By Linda Stein Oct 7, 2014 Updated Nov 9, 2018

SARAH COXE LANGE IS ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE DEVON HORSE SHOW

UPDATE: Devon Horse Show board ousts president, chairman
By Linda Stein Dec 22, 2014 Updated Nov 9, 2018

Inquirer: Ousted Devon Horse Show president calls change a ‘hostile takeover’ by By Justine McDaniel, Inquirer Staff Writer
Published Dec 23, 2014

Ousted Devon Horse Show box holders demand reinstatement
By Linda Stein May 21, 2015

Devon Horse Show chairman pleads guilty to disorderly conduct citation. Devon Horse Show chairman pleads guilty to disorderly conduct citation. By Richard Ilgenfritz
rilgenfritz@21st-centurymedia.com
@rpilgenfritz on Twitter Jul 22, 2016 Updated Oct 3, 2016

Devon Horse Show chief says he was ‘boisterous,’ not drunk By Grace Toohey, STAFF WRITER Published Jul 21, 2016

no devon horse show for 2021 either….

Posted on April 11, 2021 by carla

The Inquirer headline screams the bad news. Devon Horse Show is 86’d for a second year. However, Savvy Main Line broke the news before the articles and blog posts started.

And this is devastating news. The Devon Horse Show isn’t just about a tradition that has survived two World Wars, it’s a beloved player in the equestrian world. (The equestrian world in my opinion is shrinking in this area due to development, but that’s a conversation for another day.)

Read more at http://nancyjaffer.com/disaster-devon-horse-show-cancelled/

See the screenshot just above? This is interesting blog post to read. I don’t know the author.

I will note that there is a lot of misinformation going around in local Facebook groups about The Devon Horse Show. And I think it is a horrible disservice to all parties involved to put forward false information. That’s why I haven’t blogged about this personally until today. I’m not a Devon insider so I don’t know why exactly the show was canceled other than I believe it is the Covid19 world in which we live that is the reason at the end of the day. Essentially I wanted to think about this for a few days.

But for some to take the knee jerk reaction and try to blame ongoing zoning and other issues around the horse show for the cancellation is patently false information. That has nothing to do with this decision and the Devon Horse Show in and of itself has not so much to do with the current zoning issues either in my opinion. And that’s not to say that there haven’t been zoning issues about the horse show itself because there have been.

The zoning kerfuffle has always been in part about about the residents who live around the horse show who don’t want everything around the horse show super sized and overly urbanized. They don’t want the horse show to go away they just don’t want development to overrun everything.

👉🏻See www.saveeasttown.org and http://www.preservedevon.org/. 👈🏻

I think that is perfectly reasonable and I have good friends who live within the shadow of the horse show and have for years. It’s a lovely area that is facing extinction because of development. Those people are trying to preserve what makes the area special including the horse show. And just because some of these people also have had issue with the head of the horse show over things like the ongoing BS with boxes, whisper down the lane wants to blame THEM for the horse show being cancelled?

Come on! I am not a fan of what some of the Devon Horse Show had evolved into in the past few years complete with the ridiculous women who don’t know one end of the horse from the other showing up in all their tacky glory for Ladies Hat Day which used to be truly lovely, but even I am concerned about Devon.

But even with my concern about Devon because of the past fond memories I actually have, I’m not going to run around and blame the neighbors. That’s crap.

No one could have predicted a global pandemic, but I think plenty could have predicted future problems with Devon Horse under current leadership.

Maybe, just maybe, the keyboard critics could get off their proverbial high horses and take a long hard look at Devon and it’s financial structure and current leadership and maybe decide from there how to save it. Because it’s going to need saving.

When I was growing up Devon to me meant summer was here. And my friends and I would go in our old school Lilly Pulitzer and Vested Gentress dresses and Eskil’s clogs or Pappagallo espadrilles and khakis or jeans and wander the then much smaller vendor area and midway.

We would stop and get Devon fudge to take home, check out the antique dealers booths, the hospital’s thrift shop booth in what seems like an old spring house across from the burgers, ride the Ferris wheel and then go to the stands and watch the horses go round and round from someone’s family box. One of my favorite things were when the carriages would enter the ring and the majestic Clydesdales. It was so exciting.

I used to love Devon Horse Show. I remember things like the person who used to have cool antique prints next door to the woman who would bring her Jack Russells who would hang out in her booth. Or all of the years getting a Devon burger and hanging out at the picnic tables watching the world go by. And Betty Moran there to greet you in that booth next to where you entered the show.

I stopped consistently going to Devon Horse Show in 2012. I actually went to the fall classic show a few times between then and Covid19. I liked that show. It was more chill then the see and be seen that May Devon had morphed into.

A great little history of the show can be found at:

A Look Back at “Old Devon”, An All-American Horse Show by Nina Fedrizzi

One of the Devon related events that I was honored to attend was October, 2015. It was the dedication of the Devon Horse Show historical marker. I still have never understood why the horse show seemingly found it so objectionable, but the sign actually had to be placed across Lancaster Avenue from the horse show. A few of my friends, including the late Michael Morrison, poured their hearts and souls into getting the marker erected. The dedication ceremony was October 2015.

I will note this is not the only time in its history that Devon has not had a horse show. There was no show between 1900 and 1910. In 1918, with the US in World War I the show was supposed to be cancelled, but apparently a much smaller show instead happened. The show that year benefited emergency aid and war relief. According to the Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society it was the following year in which Bryn Mawr Hospital became the recipient charity for the first time. During the Second World War there was no show 1943, 1944, 1945.

The Devon Horse Show is a beloved tradition. If the show’s nouveau patrons and box holders continue to support the show even through these closures, I think the show will survive. But the thing is this: are the people today who pretend to be philanthropic really as philanthropic as those who came before us? Because that’s in my opinion one of the things that is going to have to happen for this show to survive and come back: philanthropy.

I also feel that for the Devon Horse Show to come back and thrive they need to make peace with their neighbors for real. There also needs to be more transparency on the part of the horse show on the financials. Break all of the costs down, and work out future scenarios, maybe go more back to basics? Go a little retro?

Devon can survive. But perhaps the decision to hold off another year will end up giving the horse show folks the gift of reflection? Maybe they need a new Chairman? I realize some people will think I’m being horrible by saying that, but I don’t see how the show has been well …..consistently thriving under his leadership. And I’m entitled to that opinion.

Here’s hoping Devon uses this cancellation to improve, and step forward to an even better future. Get back to the tradition.

Thanks for stopping by.

living the covid19 life: sleepless nights

Posted on March 20, 2020 by carla

Vintage pillowcase purchased at a store now part of a mandated non-essential closure , Magnolia Cottage Shop in Malvern/Frazer.

Sleepless nights in coronavirus land. I think we all are having them. Last night into this morning was mine. A wise friend once said to me nothing good happens if you worry late into the night. So I laid there and listened to the patter of rain on the roof, and eventually drifted off.

3 AM was just when this got to me. But now here we are, it’s Friday and everyone I know and their families survived the week in the COVID19 world, so I think that is good. Think of COVID19 as the ultimate 12 step program. No, I am not and never have been in recovery. Someone I know who is suggested this parallel because this current world we live in can only be handled one day at a time.

Overnight we learned that California had issued a state wide shelter in place. Translation? #staythefuckhome. So why can’t people just do that without being told? Why are people so bent out of shape that WaWa for example stopped self-serve coffee? I mean come on, are people really that obtuse or selfish? Someone I know who had to be out briefly yesterday had remarked when they were out they noticed how people in some places seemed to act like it was business as usual. They wondered how a car detailing place they passed by was an essential business.

Things I think about include what happens to residential and retail/commercial renters? Are their landlords being kind? What are they doing for tenants? I get that a lot of these property owners have mortgages and bills to pay, but not all do and some probably have mortgages that are low enough that they could maybe offer some rent abatements? Are they?

I have a lot of friends and acquaintances with small businesses. I say a prayer for them every day. Some we can support remotely, some we can’t. It’s a horrible Sophie’s Choice situation, isn’t it?

I can’t think of anyone not affected by this global pandemic. I have friends that live overseas and a stepbrother too. This is no joke. Yet you have to wonder what some people and organizations are thinking.

My alma mater The Shipley School has canceled the entire reunion weekend in May. I think it’s the right thing to do. Yet on one thread talking about it someone said “Damn this panic over nothing!” With those people you can only shake your head and walk away.

Other events are being or have been canceled. A Philadelphia tradition, the Dad Vail Regatta has been cancelled. The Penn Relays have been canceled for the first time in 126 years. I met the famous Olympian Jesse Owens there when I was a child.

Other cancellations include Radnor Hunt events like the balance of the fox hunting season. That’s good and here’s hoping some of their membership stops gathering at the club for events and cocktails now. I saw a photo recently of a bunch of folks at an event there and the event selfies were reminiscent of “let them eat cake” a la Marie Antoinette. Not trying to be mean. But people in clubs aren’t immortal.

Organizations Philadelphians have not heard from include the Orpheus Club. We belong and did not attend the March event because of coronavirus, and they have a spring concert at the Kimmel Center which I am somewhat surprised has not been postponed or canceled. Their events are quite popular and well, how do you practice social distancing at a large, crowded event? The short answer is you can’t. Orpheus we will still love you if you have to postpone the spring concert.

Now another organization which has NOT canceled which people are talking about is the Devon Horse Show. So many other equine spring events like Winterthur’s Point to Point has been canceled. Even the Grand National in England has been cancelled. But Devon Horse Show remains silent. Devon is a HUGE event, which makes it exactly a big kind of risk, doesn’t it? What are the show organizers thinking?

Governor Tom Wolf has ordered all non life-sustaining businesses to shut down. So it’s going to get more quiet. And yes this virus is going to cause and is causing an economic hit. I have thought a lot of the supposed bubbling economy was smoke and mirrors for a couple of years, so hopefully we will come out of this battered and not broken.

But the thing is this: we are exactly and precisely in a situation beyond our control. As in we can only control ourselves. So we need to step up. We can be selfish or we can be smart and compassionate. Now is the time to pay it forward. Even little things like just calling a friend to say hi. Checking in on neighbors.

To get through this we need to keep the home fires burning and just stay the hell home. And we need to keep our kids home and the older ones need to learn about social distancing. I think the idiots who had to go on spring break need to be quarantined somewhere and sent home if healthy.

Now it’s not all horrible. Some beautiful things have happened. Music floating over rooftops in Italy and other European countries, musicians playing from home via social media platforms, and more. And we have to give a shout out to our grocery stores who are really stepping up their games. Now if people would just buy what they need and resist the urge to hoard.

Locally there are random acts of kindness abounding which makes my heart happy and gives us all hope. From people who keep chickens sharing eggs and more. Neighbors helping neighbors.

We live in a time where the biggest positive to come out of this is people are starting to remember what is important in this life. That’s a good thing. Look I’m not Pollyanna, I can be really negative and I had a sleepless night. Just like when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 I am choosing to do my best to remain positive. We have to choose hope. We have to not let the boogie men who appear in the middle of the night when we are sleepless not get the better of us.

Look, it won’t kill us if we stay home for a while. It might kill us if we don’t. Choose life. #staythefuckhome

Happy Friday. Be well.

chestercountyramblings

meandering through, writing about whatever strikes my fancy

Tag Archives: devon horse show

really devon? y’all are (or were?) running puppy what exactly at the devon fall classic?

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so “yuletide” is moving…

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bah humbug in the 19333.

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in case devon horse show has any rain/thunderstorm delays and you need something to read…..best served with devon popcorn (naturellement)….

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it’s devon time

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much ado again…and again….and again….about devon horse show

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happy anniversary devon horse show!

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more devon drama: much ado about devon

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no devon horse show for 2021 either….

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living the covid19 life: sleepless nights

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