Amberley Snyder has the most amazing story and is a true inspiration, especially if you are an Equestrian. Her Story proves that you can accomplish incredible feats when you put your mind to it.
Amberley Snyder a Young Girl with a Passion for Rodeo
Amberley moved from California with her parents to a ranch when she was just 7 years old, and she insisted that she get a pony. Amberley had been riding since 3 years old, but after the move, took to rodeo at just 7 years old. She competed in Rodeo from her junior days all the way up through high school, achieving great success along the way, with a World Title at the end of High School. She was on a roll, and it seemed the only way was up.
A Serious Car Accident
Unfortunately, when Amberley was heading to take part in a stock show in Denver Colarado in early 2010, she was involved in bad car accident in which she rolled her jeep and was thrown from it, hitting a fence and breaking her back. That day Amberley’s world changed in an instant.
Walk, Ride, Rodeo.
After Surgery to repair her spine, the Doctors told Amberley that she would most likely never walk again. However, undeterred she had made it her Goal in the Hospital to Walk, Ride, Rodeo and she put her mind to it and worked toward that goal. Although, as Amberley puts it herself, she hasn’t managed to walk yet, she persuaded her Doctors and her Parents that riding was her life, and that she wanted to ride again. With that kind of determination she was back in the Saddle just 4 months after her accident.
The First Day Back Was The Hardest.
Amberley said that the first day back on her horse was one of the hardest days of her life, because she realised just how tough it was going to be, as now her disability would mean that she would have to approach the training of her horses a little differently. Undeterred she worked at finding ways of working with her horses, that allowed her to be as independent as was possible in their care, but as Amberley put it “My Horses are so important to me, My Horses are my legs and allow me freedom, to still be me. When I get on my horse I get to leave my chair at the trailer and get to be the person I want to be all the time, I am so lucky to have them to do that for me.”
Just 18 Months to Rodeo.
Amberley has had to make some changes, but aims to be very independent by tacking up her own horses; she has trained them to lower their heads making it easier for her to bridle them, and she says she is even able to get on completely unaided occasionally. Just 18 months after her return to riding she was able to compete in rodeo once more and she still competes professionally over 8 years on.
If you would like to discover more about Amberley’s Story, you can watch the super film on Netflix, Walk, Ride, Rodeo, plus we have shared a super YouTube video of Amberley chatting about her journey back to competition made by BioMane Products.
This Article was originally published in the May 2021 Issue of Irish Sport Horse Magazine – Video and Pictures from BioMane Products on YouTube.