American Emily Dehoff winner of the Vimac Prize
The second class of Saturday at CHIO 2026 was also for the two-star riders. A two-phase special was held at a height of 1.40m. The top three consisted of riders from the USA, Germany, and Belgium, respectively. The fastest time (33.79 seconds) was set by 22-year-old Emily Dehoff with her ten-year-old gelding Con Quality (by Chin Champ).
The second prize went to Germany. Lucas Wenz and the eleven-year-old stallion United Way HV (by Uriko) crossed the finish line in 34.18 seconds. The third prize was for a Belgian combination. Robin van Thillo and the eleven-year-old mare P-Jewil’s Promise (by Baltic VDL) recorded a time of 34.57 seconds.
No Plan
Emily: “I live and work half the time in Florida and half in Germany with my trainer, Richard Vogel. Richard was invited to ride in the five-star classes here and thought it would be a good experience for me to start here as well. I am here with two horses that I have only recently started riding. The horse I won this class with, I have only had for two months. I am therefore very happy with this result. I actually didn’t have a plan; I just wanted to ride well and bond with him. However, things just clicked, and we were simply faster than expected. Con Quality is a very competitive horse and he went for it.”
Family Atmosphere
“I am here in Rotterdam for the first time, and I like it very much. I think it is a beautiful show and the atmosphere is special—I would call it familial. The level of sport is high, and I really enjoy being able to ride among the five-star riders. When I am done with my own classes, I stay on the grounds to watch them compete. For example, yesterday I enjoyed watching the Longines League of Nations.”