1983 – 2014 168 cm Brown
Breeder: Léon Melchior
At the beginning, this stallion created a great deal of interest, in that he produced a genuine international jumping star in Goldfever andt has also produced a respectable dressage stallion, Goethe. But after that the line peters out…
As his name indicates, Grosso Z is not only a descendent of the famed Hanoverian ‘G’ line, but also a product of perhaps the most famous private jumping stud of them all, Léon Melchior’s Zangersheide, in Lanaken, Belgium.
Grosso Z is by Goliath II Z who was an international showjumper with Willy van der Ham. Goliath II Z is by Graf Gotthard by Gotthard, and out of the foundation mare of the Zangersheide breeding program – Heureka by Ganeff. Heureka was actually ridden by Zangersheide founder, Léon Melchior, but it was with Hermann Schridde in the saddle that she was a star, winning the Grand Prix of Aachen. Heureka is the grand-dam of Olympic gold medallist, Ratina Z and her three stallion full-brothers, Rebel I, II and III.
Grosso Z’s dam, Füchsin is by Furioso II out of a Lugano I mare. Füchsin was the dam of expensive auction horses as well as the licensed stallion son, Cadence Z, who competed successfully as a showjumper.
After he won the title of Champion Stallion of Belgium, Grosso Z moved to Germany and the St Ludwig stud. One year later, Grosso Z was the Champion Stallion of the Stallion Performance test at Warendorf, scoring a sensational 148.85 – thanks to his wonderful basic gaits, rideability and jumping ability.
In 1994, Grosso Z returned to the Rhineland area, where he continued to compete up to M level jumping, then under Jan Nivelle switched to the dressage arena, competing up to Intermediaire I level.
Accepted as a breeding stallion in Westfalia, Oldenburg, Belgium and the KWPN – and soon after that for Hanover and all the German studbooks – except Holstein – Grosso Z was also used as a breeding stallion in France and Italy.
Grosso Z finally stood at the picturesque Gestüt Wiesenhof, a private stud near Dusseldorf.
The Hanoverian stallion book, the Hannoveraner Jahrbuch Hengste for 2011 (the last in which he appears) credits Grosso Z with 584 competitors in Germany who had won €3,524,314 – giving Grosso Z an FN dressage rating of 114 and a jumping rating of 121. His most successful dressage horse was Goethe, winner of €41,153, while his top jumping earner was Goldfever with a massive €2,315,893.
He has produced a number of licensed sons including Goldfever, and his full-brother, Goldfever II, as well as Galippo (out of an Absatz mare) who with the new name, Gambinus, competed for Britain in the European Dressage Championships, ridden by Peter Storr.
Gambrinus and Peter Storr competing for Britain
