After being asked by Hall-of-Fame trainer Richard Mandella to gallop some of his horses, she began her riding career.
[2] She set a likely-record in Southern California as the first female apprentice rider to win four races in an afternoon on May 16, 2021 at Santa Anita.
[3][4] Pyfer won the 2021 Eclipse Award at age 23, leading all North American apprentices by mount earnings and finishing second in wins.
She was the third woman to win the award and one of six Santa Anita-based riders to be named Champion Apprentice.
Her mother Sherri Alexander is an exercise rider who gallops horses for her husband, trainer Phil D'Amato.