Frank Chapot

Francis Davis Chapot (February 24, 1932 – June 20, 2016) was an American equestrian who competed at six consecutive Olympic Games - from 1956 to 1976 - and won two silver medals in team show jumping, at Rome 1960 and Munich 1972. Chapot was chef d'equipe of the American equestrian team from 1980 to 2004, leading them to their first Olympic team gold at Los Angeles 1984. He earned a bachelor's degree at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1955.

Career Chapot spent two years serving in the United States air force. They retired to raise horses at Chado Farm, including the 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 had an incredible career at the Grand Prix level. The gelding is the only horse to have won the "American Grand Prix Association Horse of the Year" title three times, and is regarded as having been one of the best show-jumpers in the history of the discipline. The Chapots had the horse cloned and began a breeding line from the clone.

Awards and recognition Chapot was inducted into the United States Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 1994, two years after his wife Mary.

Personal life Chapot married Mary Mairs in 1965, and they had two daughters, Laura and Wendy. Laura Chapot became a grand prix rider, while Wendy rides as an amateur jumper.