Piggy March: ‘I wanted to put Halo on the map – and I was delighted it came off’

Piggy March reflects on new rides and selection tactics for the European Eventing Championships

The last month has been an interesting one. I have fewer horses in my string now than previously, but it includes some fascinating new rides. I’m still passionate about eventing and love getting to know a horse who interests me – I still feel very competitive and love the challenge to keep improving myself and my horses, and I enjoy the journey with the owners who support me.

I wasn’t out looking for an advanced ride, but Pippa Funnell has been a great friend and mentor to me throughout my career, and I tried her 2023 Bramham winner and five-star horse MCS Maverick after many conversations with her and his then owner Sarah Ross.

He’s a blood, athletic horse and very sensitive, but I love working with a horse where you have to use your brain to get into their mind and body. He’s a challenge, but he’s been with great people all his life so I know he’s had happy experiences.

His two four-star short runs mean he’s qualified for Burghley and it was a bonus to win an advanced at Aston-le-Walls. We need the runs to build experience together.

Burghley is as big and serious as eventing gets and I think Maverick is a long way off being the finished article, but he’s scopey and quality and I’m looking forward to the next few years as a partnership. It’s early days and I’m grateful for Pippa’s support and to his new group of owners, the Maidwell Mavericks.

Always learning

I’m also riding a couple of horses who are owned or produced by another friend and mentor in Andrew Nicholson. Fenizio, who has been bought by an owner of mine, Maggie Demuth, won the eight- and nine-year-old class at Aston and I was fourth on the little firecracker Filipo, whom I’ve ridden for a year for Andrew and who is for sale.

Andrew has ridden and produced many horses from these Spanish bloodlines, with a long association with breeder Ramón Beca. They are quality, fast, blood sorts and it’s been fascinating to learn from Andrew about their breeding, their toughness and how to get the best out of them.

We are always learning with horses and I’m lucky to be associated with two top-class riders in Andrew and Pippa so I can absorb their knowledge.

Setting a new Burgham record

With Maverick having his Burghley qualifications all sorted, I made a last-minute swap to put Jayne McGivern’s Halo into Burgham’s CCI4*-S.

I’m delighted he’s on the longlist for the Europeans, but you’ve got to keep proving you can be better to be in the mix. The British horsepower and riders are incredible and the selectors have a difficult job.

Halo didn’t have a super-strenuous run at Luhmühlen, due to the only run-out of his career with me, so I was keen to get him back out and thought the ground should be good at Burgham after some rain.

I was so proud of Halo’s overall winning performance – he’s a beautiful little horse, wonderful to work with and maturing physically and mentally. He set a new record finishing score for Burgham, 19.8 – and felt like he deserved every bit of it.

My aim for the past couple of weeks has been to put his name on the map, so I put pressure on myself and wanted it to happen – without overpressuring him – and I was delighted it came off. I think we’ve done all we can ahead of selection. I believe Halo was put on the planet for championships and he’s as good a horse as I’ve ever had for those competitions.

Burgham is a brilliant event and it was great to watch top-class combinations. Josh Levett is based in my yard and I watched him and his peers in the high-quality young rider final trial. You certainly have to work hard if you want a spot in the British set-up at any level, but the systems and talent we have are exciting.

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