Géraldine Straumann takes over Bertram Allen's horse, Qonquest de Rigo

As World of Showjumping first reported, the 10-year-old Belgian gelding Qonquest de Rigo will soon be competing under the Swiss flag. On September 14, the change in ownership was also registered with the FEI. He was transferred from Aloga Stables Ltd.—backed by the Allen brothers, among others—to the ownership of Hofgut Kaltenherberge, owned by Dr. h.c. Thomas Straumann, the father of up-and-coming show jumper Géraldine Straumann.

About Qonquest de Rigo

Qonquest de Rigo is a son of Fantomas de Muze out of a C-Indoctro dam, who is a descendant of the famous Freiminka line. This line has branched out widely and achieved worldwide fame primarily through the dressage stallion Totilas. In fact, however, more show jumpers have emerged from this line. Take, for example, this Belgian stallion, Qonquest de Rigo, bred by U. Goossens, who has caused a sensation on the show jumping circuit over the past two years with Bertram Allen in the saddle.

As an eight-year-old, the gelding had four knockdowns in 20 courses, never more than one in a single round. In 2025, Allen then introduced him to more challenging competitions for the first time during the winter season in Wellington. In his very first 1.60-meter class, the gelding placed, with only one time penalty.

Further successes followed this spring, including his first Nations Cup appearance, which he handled with flying colors, finishing with zero faults and four penalty points. The next Nations Cup was in La Baule—a double clear round.

That same year, the pair were selected to represent the team at the European Championships in La Coruña, where the team finished in fourth place. At the subsequent FEI Nations Cup Final in Barcelona, they contributed to the team’s second-place finish as the top Irish pair, posting two clear rounds.

This year, they represented the Emerald Isle at the World Championships in Aachen, where the team finished in seventh place. Now, Qonquest de Rigo is set to continue his career under Géraldine Straumann.

Géraldine Straumann

Géraldine Straumann will celebrate her 22nd birthday in November. She has represented Switzerland at the European Championships since she was a child and has been a regular on the respective junior teams in various age groups ever since. She has competed six times so far and, as a junior, won a silver medal with the team aboard the Holsteiner Silver Surfer—a horse previously ridden at the highest level by Walter Gabathuler.

The horse that also propelled her into the top tier of senior competition was Long John Silver—also a Holsteiner—who had been trained by Jur Frieling and with whom the Dutch rider was part of the silver-medal-winning team at the 2022 World Championships in Herning, among other achievements. A year later, the pair competed together once more at the European Championships in Milan before Straumann took over Long John Silver.

In 2025, the 14-year-old son of Lasino—who had not yet competed that year and was not registered with the FEI—led Straumann to her first European Championship title in the senior division.

The fact that she now has Qonquest de Rigo in her stable is, understandably, a great cause for joy for Géraldine Straumann: “We are very happy to welcome Qonquest de Rigo into our family,” Géraldine told World of Showjumping. “It’s an incredible opportunity to have him in our stable, and I’m infinitely grateful for it.”