Jekyll Island, GA |
For Amberley Snyder, dreams of rodeo stardom started early. Raised in a competitive and athletic family, her love for horses and the thrill of the sport led her to a successful youth career in barrel racing—culminating in a national title before she was even out of high school.
“I feel like everyone had something and that was the way we were raised, is to be competitive and athletic and dedicated,” says Snyder. “For me, that was the rodeo world. I did it through junior rodeo up into high school, made the national high school finals, won the world title with Little Britches.”
But in January of 2010, everything changed. At just 18 years old, Snyder was involved in a devastating car accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down.
“I thought I had this whole plan of what I was going to be, who I was going to be,” she recalls. “And then now here I am getting told, hey, that whole life that you had—that doesn’t exist anymore.”
The road forward wasn’t easy. Snyder stepped away from her horses for nearly a year as she navigated her new reality. But with time—and determination—she found her way back to the saddle.
“I’m glad I did that because I was able to just take that challenge on to start with before coming back to the horses,” she says. “It really shifted my perspective. Even if it wasn’t the same, it was something I still truly love to do. So when I got back to my horses, then from there I never looked back. I don’t just want to be a participant—I want to be a competitor.”
That spirit led her to make history as the only paralyzed professional barrel racer in the country, earning a spot to run at The American Rodeo. Her journey was later immortalized in the Netflix film Walk. Ride. Rodeo.
“I still get messages every single day… somebody who has watched it and been inspired by it,” Snyder says. “And I still don’t even know if that really resonates with me all the time. That that’s real life.”
Today, Snyder travels the country—competing in rodeos and inspiring others as a motivational speaker. It’s a life she never expected, but one she says is only possible because of three things: her faith, her family, and her horses.
“I am who I am, and I am where I am because I have the support system of my family—the people who love me and believe in me,” she says. “Even on the days where this isn’t what I wanted, my faith to know that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be and that God has a plan for me. And then my horses… they’re my freedom. They really are.”
By: John Holcomb