Marc Chapman

We could have went with the typical formal type of obituary, but Marc Chapman was anything but typical and certainly not ordinary.

Marc was born and raised in the Wakarusa/Carbondale, Kansas area. Marc attended school at the Santa Fe Trail High School, and during that time also discovered rodeos and breaking horses to ride at his brother-in-law’s, Dale Carey’s barn. At some point, he decided maybe rodeos wasn’t the best choice, and his focus shifted towards horses and showing horses. I could say, and the rest is history, but not before sharing a few of his many accomplishments.

Marc traveled to several different states in his twenties to be the trainer at a few different ranches, Colorado, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and eventually ended up in Liberty, Missouri. He resided in Liberty for a while and then eventually moved to Iowa. 

Chappy, as he was called by some, had an impressive career with his horse showing talents. He won several world championships within the color breed associations and won several futurities in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. One of his favorite “wins” was at the Breeders Halter Futurity when he caught and led a baby for some folks from a small town in western Iowa. Marc showed the colt in the Jr Stud colt class and won it. That was a fun day. There are several more stories like that. More recently, last November, Marc claimed his World Championship – Level 2 at the 2025 AQHA World Show in 3-year-old geldings.

Marc thrived at horse shows, loved the competition, loved the camaraderie, and loved getting to visit with all of his friends. He was definitely in his element during those times. He was a hard worker, dedicated to his profession, and always tried to be a good person.

Marc’s death was unexpected and a shock to everyone who knew him. He has gone on ahead of the rest of us, but we’ll see him again one day. In his words, “I had a good life, I got to do some really fun stuff and had some great times doing what I wanted….who can argue with that ….I don’t have any regrets”.