Home Breeder Profile Maria Gretzer: A true equestrian personality and horse breeder

Maria Gretzer: A true equestrian personality and horse breeder

191
The Swedish team at San Patrignano, Italy, in 2005 (l-r) Maria Gretzer, Malin Baryard, Peder Fredricson, Svante Johansson, and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson

By Anette Sånesson / SWB (translated by Hillevi Brasch)
Photography: Roland Thunholm

Maria Gretzer is a prominent, well-known figure in Swedish equestrian sports and has also played a significant role in breeding showjumping horses. For 20 years, Maria competed in international show jumping arenas, riding Swedish-born stars such as Marcoville and Feliciano.

Maria has competed with five approved stallions in S-level showjumping and personally owned two of them. Additionally, she served as the SWB Inspection Committee’s sports representative in showjumping for eight years.
Maria has always had a deep interest in horses, starting at a riding school when she was six years old. It wasn’t just the riding part that attracted her, but everything involving horses. “I’ve always had a broad interest in horses,” Maria shares. “I was fanatically interested from the beginning and curious about everything related to horses. For example, as a young girl, I took a conformation assessment course with Bengt ‘Blomman’ Blomqvist, which was very educational.”
After finishing ninth grade, Maria took a gap year to work with horses in Germany. “That gap year is still ongoing,” Maria laughs.
She landed a job with Lene and Jasper Nissen, where she had the opportunity to ride and compete on many different horses of various ages. The Nissens had a wide selection of horses, including breeding stallions and high-quality competition horses at different levels. Maria stayed for three years, gaining a wealth of knowledge and experience. “Those years in Germany were incredibly fun,” Maria recalls. “Lene and Jasper had so much knowledge to share, and I learned so much. I gained insights into breeding, learned about horse conformation, rode many different horses, and competed up to the 1m40 level.”

Strömsholm 020520.
Maria Gretzer och Feliciano vann Grand Prix-hoppningen.
Foto: Roland Thunholm

When she returned to Sweden, Maria started her own business. Her parents bought Pihle Farm, just south of Malmö, which became the base for her operations. Maria took on horses for breaking and training while also teaching lessons in the evenings to make the business viable... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO BREEDING NEWS

SUBSCRIBERS CAN READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE BY LOGGING IN AND RETURNING TO THIS PAGE