Baby Virgil... now an Olympic silver medallist!

And along came Virgil

By Roger Fitzhardinge

When Michelle Hasibar went out to check on her mare in foal, she noticed a tall and leggy newborn perched on the side of the dam. How did he get there? Surely he hadn’t jumped the fence...

Michelle Hasibar is a name that is synonymous with the NSW equestrian world, not only in the Australia eventing crew but internationally. She is a very private, unassuming smart and savvy woman who was born in Sydney and grew up on a five-acre property in Galston, an hour’s drive from Sydney.

Her parents had migrated from Austria and had no interest in horses, but when Michelle was three years old she developed pony mania and begged for a pony. Her father relented much to his wife’s disgust but told Michelle she would have wait until she turned eight. So, at seven-and-a-half, the nagging started and the pony arrived on her eighth birthday! Michelle rode and trained a lot with Lynette Holwick’s twin sister Annette Smith who ran a riding school not far from home. Michelle rode at the local riding club, which at that time was not an affiliated pony club...

Read the full article in the August issue of Equestrian Life magazine here.