Junior rider Bonnie Efird enjoys performing, whether in the ring or on the stage. The 17-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina rode her relatively new partner, Magie Noir to first place in the Junior Team Test with a combined score of 67.25 percent. Only a week ago, she was busy performing on stage as Anita in West Side Story. “I recently wasn’t riding as much because I was in the musical until last weekend,” Efird said. “Theater is my other passion, but when I’m not in a play, I ride five or six times a week.”

Efird has only owned Magie Noir since last fall. Prior to that, the 13-year-old Dutch mare (by Havidoff) was at Collecting Gaits Farm. The mare was a replacement for the horse Efird lost last year from founder. “I made the junior team last year, but my horse (Nebellaurate) foundered before the competition and had to be put down. So I wasn’t able to compete at the juniors, but I did make the Region 1 team for NAJRC.” Efird is aiming for the NAJRC again this year and part of that process requires riding a freestyle, which is giving her a chance to combine her two loves into an equestrian performance. “I’m using music from The Little Mermaid. It’s kind of fun and it matches her paces really well. She’s a little prissy mare so it kind of brings out her personality. She likes it.”

Efird has been riding since the age of six and made the jump to dressage after deciding her future wasn’t in the hunter/jumper ring. “After a bad fall and bad jumping experience, I chose dressage and have been doing it ever since,” she said. This was the junior rider’s first trip to the Florida show circuit, but the Derby won’t be her only venue in Florida this season. “I’ll be back next weekend for the Junior/Young Riders clinic and will ride with Stefen Peters and then will spend two weeks during my spring break with my trainer Diana Ritz.” Ritz is based in Monroe, North Carolina but is spending the winter in Florida.

Efird said she’s looking forward to a long partnership with Magie Noir and expects that when she moves into the Young Rider ranks next year, the mare will move along with her. “She was trained to I-1 and she can be fancy and she’s pretty to look at, but what really matters to me is the chemistry between us. She’s really sweet.”