Bigger Is Better for Darnell and Kelly-Baxley in Opening Day Victories at 2026 WEC March Dressage CDI3*
The World Equestrian Center (WEC) March Dressage CDI3* presented by Hampton Green Farms at WEC – Ocala opened on Friday, March 6, 2026, with two big winners – both horses stand well above 17 hands tall – at the grand prix level. Jodie Kelly-Baxley (USA) and her own Grayton Beach were victorious in the Grand Prix for Special CDI3*. Claire Darnell (USA) and her own Harrold S led the way in the Grand Prix for Freestyle CDI3*.
Darnell guided Harrold S to a score of 66.891% to win the Grand Prix for Freestyle CDI3*. This was their first international grand prix victory. Darnell found Harrold as a four-year-old, and he came to the U.S. in his five-year-old year.
“That makes my partnership with him really special,” said Darnell of the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Vivaldi x Fidermark. “I know everything about him, and he can totally read my emotions too. I can tell how he’s going to be for the ride when I’m getting him ready in the stall. He’s my competition partner but also my favorite pet.”
The pair started at Training Level and moved up steadily. They won every class at Small and Medium Tour that they competed in before moving up to the grand prix level in November of 2022. Darnell, who is from Washington State, moved to California and competed there from late 2020 to the end of 2022. She made a move cross-country to Florida in 2023 and has stayed ever since.
“I didn’t really have goals or plans with him when I got him, except be the best we could be together,” said Darnell. “It took time to build confidence in the ring. I was never in a hurry with him, and everything happened on his time.”
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