1999 Sinjon   The brilliant 1960s show jumper Sinjon, a bay Thoroughbred (Vino Puro-Helen Abrigail) foaled in 1951, stood a scant 16 hands. He began his sport horse career on the racetrack, but compiled only a mediocre record before Harry De Leyer (of Snowman fame) transformed him into a jumper. Sinjon was a sensation at the 1957 National Horse Show and then his owner, Eileen Dineen, loaned him to the USET the following year. But when it seemed the USET might lose him, he was purchased by Walter Devereux and loaned permanently to the Team. Sinjon appeared on no fewer than 19 winning Nations' Cup teams between 1959 and 1966, carrying three riders during his career - George Morris in 1959 and '60, Kathy Kusner in '61 and Bill Steinkraus from 1962-66. With Morris in the irons, Sinjon was a solid member of the 1960 Olympic team in Rome, placing fourth in the Individual Competition, and helping the USET win the team Silver Medal. With Steinkraus, Sinjon earned a team Gold Medal at the 1963 Pan American Games, won the Grand Prix of Harrisburg that fall and the George V Gold Cup in London. In 1964 he added the Grand Prix of Toronto to his resume. Sinjon was a clear selection for the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, but was sidelined with an injury sustained in training. Despite recovering from this injury, ordinary wear and tear and advancing age eventually affected Sinjon's remarkable abilities in the late 1960s and he was formally retired in 1970 in a ceremony held at the National Horse Show. Sinjon spent his final years on Steinkraus's Connecticut farm, where he died in his sleep at age 25.