By Carolin Tassius-Diederich / Holsteiner Verband
Photography: Holsteiner Verband and Stefan Lafrentz
For seven years now, Million Dollar has been owned by the Holsteiner Verband Hengsthaltungs GmbH. Since then, the son of Plot Blue has always been a focus for breeders, and at his first public appearance already attracted a lot of attention.
Now 11 years old, Million Dollar first competed with Maximilian Gräfe before Ebba Johansson took over for a few years. The pair quickly advanced to become series winners in young horse classes. After the Swedish rider left the Holsteiner Verband, it didn’t take long to find Frank Schuttert from Jos Lansink’s stable as a new partner. He was then carefully prepared for a career in sport and experienced his first international shows. When the Dutchman started his own stable, the managers of Hengsthaltungs GmbH decided to bring Million Dollar back to Elmshorn, and later entrusted him to Sophie Hinners.
From day one, the 25-year-old felt comfortable with this colourful KWPN stallion and the pair took care of wins and placings at several international shows and Nations Cup during their very first season. They recorded top Grand Prix placings in 1m50 classes in Oliva, Mannheim, Kronenberg, Budapest, and Bratislava, and also finished 10th in the Balve national championship.
At the of July Million Dollar unfortunately suffered a ruptured hernia that required surgery. Since then, he has returned to Elmshorn and recovering well. Luckily, the quality of his semen has been unaffected even though one testicle had to be removed. However, Holsteiner managing director Sebastian Rohde has decided that Million Dollar should not return to sport for now. The good news as a result is that fresh semen will be available from this highly popular sire for the 2023 season.
From the line of the famous Querly Chin (Chin Chin) Million Dollar has already made a name for himself as a sire in recent years. His eldest offspring are now six years old and include current Bundeschampioness, Kalifa (damsire Care-tino), whose rounds with Sophie Hinners in Warendorf will long be remembered. In mid-December, the likeable mare changed hands for a large six-figure sum via the PSI auction, so it will be exciting to see what kind of career awaits Kalifa... 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
