Maj. Gen Jonathan (Jack) Burton bridged the cavalry and civilian eras of American eventing, competing for the army in the 1948 Olympic Games and for the fledgling U.S. Equestrian Team in the 1956 Games, as well. A former president of the U.S. Combined Training Association who was an international judge, Jack is still active in the world of horse sports and has earned living legend status.

"When I came in," Jack recalled after being installed in the Hall of Fame, "there was only one event a year, and it was at Ft. Riley, Kansas, and it was at only one level, Olympic level." He marvels at the hundreds of events that are now run across the country at levels from baby novice to 4-star.

Riding horses captured from the Germans, Americans did well in post-war shows. The cavalry officers last appeared in the 1948 Olympics, the military's swan song for the Games, where Jack was on the show jumping team. Military duties meant he could not compete with the first civilian equestrian squad in the 1952 Olympics, but he was on the three-day team for the USET in 1956. He went on to organize horse trials and write the first rulebook for combined training. He still holds his AHSA judge's license and his FEI steward's license.

"I've had a full life of equestrian," he told a packed ballroom at the convention, "and I want to thank you for a chance to be part of it. Three-day is kind of the happiest and most fun of the disciplines."