At the Swedish Warmblood Association’s (SWB) most recent licensing, which included an integrated aptitude test, the six-year-old son of Million Dollar-Colman-Lordanos, Million’s Grey (Rita Künzli, Switzerland), line 579, was licensed and awarded a premium.
The grey had already made a name for himself in sport last year by qualifying for the German National Championships with Steffen Buchheim. His owner, Thomas Ryan, who lives in Sweden, was in the saddle for the licensing. The breeder, Rita Künzli, had decided at the time to pair him with Million Dollar because she was already well acquainted with his sire, Plot Blue, and valued him for his good temperament as well as the dam line’s proven sporting pedigree. Million’s Grey’s dam, in turn, is the full sister of Gerrit Nieberg’s Contagio.
Dave Maarse, the guest rider at the Swedish licensing, says of Million’s Grey that his “outstanding temperament, rideability and enormous potential” in particular speak in the stallion’s favour, as reported by the Swedish online magazine tidningenridsport.se. “He didn’t touch a single pole,” the rider continued.
Cover photo: sporfot.de, photo of Million’s Grey: private collection
