Wonder Woman of the Week: Amberley Snyder

The blog mentions quite a few equine specialists from the Ancient Greek Olympics to the Modern… Olympics. This week’s spotlight is one of the most powerful horsewomen of history. She may not be an Olympian (as her sport has never been an Olympic event) but she blows all of them out of the water with her story. Amberley Snyder is the Wonder Woman of the Week.

Amberley Snyder fell in love with riding horses at only three years old. When Snyder was seven, her father told her the family was moving to Utah and Amberley told her dad the only way she would move would be if he got her a horse. One horse later, the Snyder family was moving to Utah. When Snyder arrived in Utah, she started competing in barrel racing almost immediately. (For those uneducated in rodeo events, barrel racing entails a mounted athlete making a clover-leaf pattern around barrels with their horse. Point are awarded for speed and deducted for knocking over the barrels.) By the time Snyder was in high school, she had already won 70 buckles (trophies in the rodeo world) and won the National Little Britches Finals Rodeo (thing Junior Olympics). [1] All of that alone would qualify this cowgirl for Wonder Woman status, but a caltrop on her path to success made Snyder’s story even more inspirational.

While driving through Wyoming, Amberley Snyder barreled off the interstate. The eighteen year-old was thrown from the vehicle into the snow. Like any survivalist, Snyder assessed her situation and remained calm- even after she discovered she could no longer feel her legs. While on her way to a competition in Denver, Amberley Snyder crashed her truck after swerving on the road. She broke her back and permanently lost the use of her legs. Snyder’s family and community pooled their money together to pay for Amberley’s medical expenses as Snyder went through physical therapy in Cheyenne. [2]

A broken back and permanently paralyzed legs became forgotten handicap to the athlete working to get back in the saddle- literally speaking. Snyder told her doctors, “I rodeo. I ride horses. When can I ride again?” Even after a handicapping injury, Snyder refused to quit. The doctors told her she would never walk again, but Snyder didn’t need to walk to ride horses. At twenty-four years of age, Snyder continued riding horses and continued to compete in barrel racing events- even one with a million-dollar prize. [3]

There are a lot of men and women in history who achieved greatness without obstacle. There are even more who quit for whatever major or minor reasons they had. Amberley Snyder is one of the few who faced physical trauma and refused to quit. She became paralyzed at the age of eighteen, and her immediate response was to keep going. Snyder is absolutely an example of how powerful women are capable of being. Even before her car accident, Snyder was an accomplished athlete. After becoming paralyzed, she used her strength to overcome her handicap and used her sport as her inspiration for living. Snyder continues to win rodeo championships today and stands as one of the most accomplished barrel racers in history- regardless of her handicap.

Snyder, Amberley. “This is How it is Now, But What Am I Going to do With it Tomorrow.” 2013. sharedstory.org. Accessed 30 December 2015. http://sharedstory.org/ThisIsHowItIsNow

Reichman, Matt. “With a broken back, Spanish Fork teen will ‘move on from here’.” 23 January 2010. Daily Herald. Accessed 30 December 2015. http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/south/spanish-fork/with-a-broken-back-spanish-fork-teen-will-move-on/article_1ce090c9-6a81-550d-84dd-0bef33f69695.html

Denison, Jennifer and Hecox, Ross. “Amberley Snyder Gets the Vote.” 2014. Western Horseman. Accessed 30 December 2015. http://www.westernhorseman.com/article/ride-west/2622-amberley-snyder-gets-the-vote