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Nov 11, 2020
Through the Lens: Major General Jonathan R. Burton's Funeral at Arlington National Cemetery
On Tuesday, October 27, 2020, Major General Jonathan R. Burton was laid to rest with military funeral honors and funeral escort at Arlington National Cemetery. Burton passed away at the age of 99 in Tuscon, Arizona on May 29, 2019.
Burton enrolled in the ROTC Horse Cavalry Division while at Michigan State University and moved to Fort Riley, Kansas, headquarters of the U.S. Cavalry School, upon graduation. When the U.S. entered World War II, Burton and his regiment were shipped to Australia to prepare to fight as infantry under General MacArthur and from there he was shipped to New Guinea.
After the war, Burton returned to Fort Riley where he taught advanced horsemanship. Burton was selected for the United States show jumping team at the 1948 London Olympics and the United States three-day eventing team at the 1956 Stockholm Olympics - he missed the 1952 Games because he was serving in the Korean War at the time. In 1953, Burton helped organize the first continuous horse trials in the U.S. along with Margaret Lindsley Warden and William Haggard and had the honor of writing the first rulebook for combined training.
General Burton served two and a half years in Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division as a brigade commander and as an assistant division commander. His decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit (1st OLC), Distinguished Flying Cross (2nd OLC), Air Medal (V Device & 54 OLC), Purple Heart, and Army Commendation Ribbon. After 33 years of service in the U.S. Army, Burton retired as a Major General, last as commander of the 3rd Armored Division.
Burton's contributions to the eventing community are innumerable and included serving as Executive Vice President for the U.S. Equestrian Team for 10 years and as President of the U.S. Combined Training Association (now United States Eventing Association) from 1985-1987. He was also a member of the group that established the North American Young Rider Championships in the 1980s. He worked as an FEI judge, technical delegate, and steward until the age of 92. He was inducted into the USEA's Eventing Hall of Fame and the US Dressage Federation Hall of Fame.
All photos by Ricky Gibson/Dogwood Productions.
Mar 22, 2023
Classic Series
Memories from the Vet Box with Max Corcoran
When super groom Max Corcoran mentioned in 2005 that it would be fun to participate in a USEA Classic Series event, her employer and eventing legend Karen O’Connor took that to heart. “I did a lot of grooming for the classic format when Kentucky and all those other competitions were proper long format,” Corcoran shared. “When Gretchen [Butts] started offering the Classic Series at Waredaca [Gaithersburg, Maryland,] she asked if I would come up and do some lectures to help people understand what the 10-minute box was and how to pack for it. I did that a few times and said to Karen, ‘Man, it would be so fun to do one of these.’ And so Karen's like, 'You want to do one? Yeah, you're gonna do one next year.'”
Mar 21, 2023
Education
Conformation Critique with Chris Ryan: Stella
Has this horse quality? The answer is definitely yes. This first impression is so important. As a selector for the Goresbridge Go for Gold Event horse sale, I have an abbreviation ‘GPO’ which stands for "Good Pull Out." It means that the first look prompts the potential client the need to bring the horse out of his box for a further look.
Mar 20, 2023
News
Through The Lens: SRF Carolina International
It was a beautiful but chilly weekend in the pines at the Setters' Run Farm Carolina International. After a record-setting 19.4 in the CCI4*-S dressage, Will Coleman became the first three-time winner in the event's history when he led from start to finish on Hyperion Stud's Chin Tonic HS.
Mar 20, 2023
Classic Series
Get to Know What’s Happening in Area VI in 2023
West Coast eventers experienced tremendous success in 2022. Tamie Smith recorded top-10 finishes at Badminton in England, at the FEI World Championships at Pratoni in Italy, and at the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill. Helen Alliston won the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final, and Tommy Greengard captured the USEA Intermediate Championship at the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC), presented by Nutrena Feeds. James Alliston returned to the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event for the first time since 2017 and finished third in the CCI4*-S.
