The Pennsylvania National Horse Show (PNHS) presented by The Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund, one of the largest and most prestigious horse shows in the nation, inducted both Mary Mairs Chapot and Harry Gill into the PNHS Hall of Fame. The award ceremony was held prior to the $100,000 Prix de Penn National Grand Prix Presented by The Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund at the 71st annual horse show on October 22 at the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg, PA. Mary Mairs Chapot has been a trailblazer on the American horse show scene since her earliest days as a student of Jimmy Williams and her career history is riddled with 'firsts.' She was the first West Coast rider to win the AHSA Medal and ASPCA Maclay Championship at the age of 16, the youngest woman rider on a U.S. Equestrian Team and the first woman to win a Pan American Games Gold medal. She and Kathy Kusner became the first women to ride on a U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In 1965 she married her teammate Frank Chapot and the pair became the first husband-wife combination to ride for the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET). Harry Rittenhouse Gill was instrumental to many aspects of equestrian sport and a major force in the world of Grand Prix show jumping for many years. He had an eye for discovering new horse prospects and owned many of the nation's most famed horses. His slew of champions included the legendary Idle Dice, Twist du Valon, Victor, Bean Bag, Sloopy, Nanticoke, Philco and Number One Spy to name but a few.
The Pennsylvania National Horse Show (PNHS) presented by The Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund, one of the largest and most prestigious horse shows in the nation, inducted both Mary Mairs Chapot and Harry Gill into the PNHS Hall of Fame. The award ceremony was held prior to the $100,000 Prix de Penn National Grand Prix Presented by The Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund at the 71st annual horse show on October 22 at the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg, PA. Mary Mairs Chapot has been a trailblazer on the American horse show scene since her earliest days as a student of Jimmy Williams and her career history is riddled with 'firsts.' She was the first West Coast rider to win the AHSA Medal and ASPCA Maclay Championship at the age of 16, the youngest woman rider on a U.S. Equestrian Team and the first woman to win a Pan American Games Gold medal. She and Kathy Kusner became the first women to ride on a U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In 1965 she married her teammate Frank Chapot and the pair became the first husband-wife combination to ride for the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET). Harry Rittenhouse Gill was instrumental to many aspects of equestrian sport and a major force in the world of Grand Prix show jumping for many years. He had an eye for discovering new horse prospects and owned many of the nation's most famed horses. His slew of champions included the legendary Idle Dice, Twist du Valon, Victor, Bean Bag, Sloopy, Nanticoke, Philco and Number One Spy to name but a few.