‘I couldn’t stop smiling all day’: Piggy March’s star stallion is back to winning ways

Piggy March and her brilliant grey stallion Halo were back to winning ways, taking the top spot in the sole open intermediate section at Oasby (3).

Jane McGivern’s diminutive 13-year-old had only had one other run under his belt – in an open novice at Little Downham the previous weekend – since falling at the Blenheim European Championships last year.

“He was fine after Blenheim, but picked up a minor injury in the spring,” explained Piggy. “It wasn’t anything serious and he recovered quickly, but with the hard ground this summer we didn’t want to bring him back too soon.

“Jane and I chatted about it and thought it would be lovely for him – and for us – to do a couple of events at the end of the season, once we’d had a bit of rain.”

The pair added just two time-penalties to their dressage score of 24.6.

“He’s been fit and bouncing off the walls for a while and loved being back out again,” said Piggy. “He was very excited going down to the start box, which was a new thing for him, but once we got going he felt as professional as ever. I couldn’t stop smiling all day.”

A return to four-star level next year is the likely goal.

“To go chasing selection for championship teams is a really big thing with so many strong combinations in contention, but to get him back to four-star and for Jane and I to enjoy him for as long as we can would be lovely,” said Piggy.

Halo has sired a few foals this year through frozen semen straws.

“We’re not doing it in a commercial way, but we have bred a couple of foals ourselves this year and have given straws to a few close friends,” said Piggy. “It’ll be cool to see how they develop. Halo is such a bonny chap and just the nicest little athlete. If there were more like him on the planet like him then we’d all be very happy.”

To stay up to date with the latest equestrian news, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website