SPORTS

Olympic show jumper, coach Frank Chapot dies at 84

Six-time Olympian coached the U.S. to first team gold in 1984

Cheryl Makin
@CherylMakin
  • At Frank Chapot's first Olympic Games in 1956, he was the youngest rider on the United States Equestrian Team.
  • Chapot led the U.S. to its first team equestrian Olympic gold at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.
  • He competed in six Olympics, winning a silver medal twice.
  • Chapot died at a nursing home in Bound Brook on Monday.

NESHANIC STATION – Frank Chapot's greatest joy was competing for his country — something he did six times in the Olympics as a champion show jumper and then as a coach for the U.S. Equestrian Team. Chapot died early Monday morning at 84, said Wendy Chapot Nunn, his daughter.

In this Aug. 7, 1984, file photo, Frank Chapot, coach of the U.S. equestrian jumping team, celebrates his team's gold medal win during the Summer Olympics at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. The champion show jumper who competed in six Olympics before coaching the United States to Olympic gold has died. Chapot was 84.

Chapot had many firsts. At his first Games — the 1956 Olympics in Stockholm — he was the youngest rider on the United States Equestrian Team (USET). At the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Chapot, with his wife, Mary Mairs Chapot, became the first husband-wife combination to ride for the U.S. And it was Chapot who led the U.S. to its first team equestrian Olympic gold as coach at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.

Nunn told the Associated Press that her father died at a nursing home in Bound Brook.

Nationally and internationally, show jumping is one of the most popular and recognizable equestrian events. Chapot's name is equally as popular in USET circles. Riding in six Olympics — every Games from 1956 to 1976 — Chapot's Olympic career included silver Prix Des Nations team medals at Rome in 1960 and Munich in 1972. Individually, he placed seventh in 1964 in Tokyo and fourth in 1968 in Mexico City, boht times aboard San Lucas. Chapot came in fifth, riding Viscount, in 1976 in Montreal.

Chapot took over the reins as coach of the U.S. squad in 1980, which also was the year of the U.S. boycott of the Games. After winning Olympic gold in 1984, Chapot's team won silver in 1988. He continued to serve as the USET coach until retiring after the 2004 Games in Athens.

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“He loved competing for the United States of America,” Nunn said. “Everything he had was red, white and blue.”

In a statement on its website, the United States Equestrian Team Foundation said Chapot “inspired multitudes of riders and coached so many winning teams.”

Frank Chapot with Wait-a-While and Donna G. Kaufmann of Rochester, New York, at the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden in New York in 1962.

In the online guest book for Branchburg Funeral Home, where arrangements have been made, several mentioned Chapot's impact on their own lives, whether they be rider or admirer.

"A sad day for the Equestrian World," said Bob Howe. "Frank Was not only a Legend but an Original as well... God Speed Mr. Frank Chapot."

"Frank Chapot is a legend in our sport," Leslie Steele said. "I am so lucky to have met him. I am glad that he imparted some of his wisdom on me."

"So sorry to hear of the passing of this major horse show jumping icon," Susan Weisenreider said. "He gave us many thrills over decades."

"I never had the pleasure of meeting Frank but I saw the fruits of his labor in the show ring for the past 50 years of my life," Didi Schoen said. "It has been my good fortune (to) watch him ride and to watch the many horses he trained."

Born in Camden in 1932, Chapot was a resident of Scotch Plains and Walpack (Sussex County) before moving to Neshanic Station 46 years ago. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1955. As well as being a prolific member of the U.S. Olympic team, Chapot was a member of the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Equestrian Federation.

Chapot also served as a show jumping course designer and judge. He was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 1994.

Local Run (8), the horse that wasn't supposed to be able to run on a dry track, became the fifth in the 20-year history of the Iroquois Steeplechase to win it for the second time. The 10-year-old brown gelding, with rider George Sloan, held off Hurst Park, with rider Frank Chapot, in 1961.

Riding continued to run in the Chapot family as both daughters — Nunn and Laura Chapot — are accomplished equestrians. After their careers as international competitive riders ended, Chapot and his wife retired to raise horses at Chado Farm in Neshanic Station.

Among them was champion show jumper Gem Twist, who won two Olympic silver medals and was named World’s Best Horse at the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm. Gem Twist is the only horse to have won the American Grand Prix Association Horse of the Year title three times and is considered one of the best show-jumpers in the history of the sport.

READ: Obituary: Frank D. Chapot, 84

According to his obituary, Chapot enjoyed all sports and spending quality time with his family.

Surviving are his wife of 51 years, Mary Mairs Chapot, daughters Nunn and her husband, Edward Nunn, of Madison, and Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, and three grandchildren, Frank, Mary and Cathleen.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Dorothy Davis and Frank J. Chapot, and his sister, Dorothy Gene Werth.

Services will be private, as Nunn said her father asked that there be no funeral. She said the family plans to hold a celebration of his life in September at the USET facility in Gladstone.

Staff Writer Cheryl Makin: 732-565-7256; cmakin@mycentraljersey.com