Amberley Snyder

Last updated
Amberley Snyder
Occupation Rodeo competitor
Discipline Barrel racing, Roping
Born (1991-01-29) January 29, 1991 (age 33)
California
Significant horses
Power, Wrangler, Legacy
Website
www.amberleysnyder.org

Amberley Snyder (born January 29, 1991) is a championship barrel racer. She also competed in pole bending and breakaway roping. In 2010, Snyder suffered a car crash that paralyzed her from the waist down. She adapted to the injury and kept competing. In 2015, she competed at a high level when she won a fan exemption to compete at The American Rodeo. Snyder is now a motivational speaker.

Contents

Early life

Amberley Snyder was born January 29, 1991, in California to Tina and Cory Snyder. She is the second-oldest of her five siblings, Ashley, JC, Taylor, Aubrey, and Autumn. [1]

Rodeo career

Snyder first rode a horse at 3 and began competing in rodeo barrel racing when she was 7 years old. [2] After that, she spent summer weekends barrel racing, pole bending, and breakaway roping. [3] She won the 2009 All-Around Cowgirl World Championship in the National Little Britches Rodeo Association. She was the 2009–2010 Utah State FFA President. [4]

Car crash and recovery

On January 10, 2010, she was driving from Utah to the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, and didn't fasten her seat belt after a gas station stop in Rawlins, Wyoming. Less than 10 miles from the gas station, she looked down to check her map, drifted into the other lane, over-corrected, and her truck slid off the road and rolled 7 times. [5] She was thrown from the truck and slammed into a fence post, which crushed her T-12 vertebra and left her paralyzed from the waist down. [6] With the help of physical therapy, and a seat belt on her saddle, she was later able to resume riding and competing in rodeo a year and a half later. [7] She transferred from Snow College to Utah State University where she was captain of the school's National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association team. [5] She also won the Shane Drury "Nothin' But Try" scholarship in 2014. [8]

In 2015, Amberley won a fan exemption [9] to compete in RFD-TV's The American Rodeo at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, [10] [11] and made a time of 15.3 seconds with her horse Power, only 0.6 seconds slower than the winning time. [2] In 2016, she was in the top 5 for the Rocky Mountain Pro Rodeo Association, and she also won her Women's Professional Rodeo Association card in 2016, [7] and now competes in the RAM Wilderness Circuit. [12]

Snyder interviewed in 2022

Later career

Snyder works as a motivational speaker, [6] and posts a weekly "Wheelchair Wednesday" video on social media to showcase everyday tasks that have become more challenging. [3] She has also written an illustrated children's book Walk Ride Rodeo about overcoming adversity.

Film portrayals

Snyder's story was portrayed in a Netflix biopic Walk. Ride. Rodeo. , released on March 8, 2019. She performed all the post-crash horse stunts in the film. Because of the similarity of their riding styles, her younger sister Autumn performed the pre-crash stunts. She also made a brief appearance as herself in the 3rd season of Yellowstone. [13] [14] [15] [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cory Snyder</span> American baseball player (born 1962)

James Cory Snyder is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 1994 for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers, earning a total of $5.7 million. He was known for his powerful throwing arm. He is on the list of Major League Baseball career assists as a right fielder leaders and the list of college baseball career home run leaders. Starting in 2006, he has been a baseball coach and a manager in various minor leagues, and in 2020 also started working as an automobile salesperson in Lindon, Utah.

Jan Youren is an American former professional rodeo cowgirl. She rode bareback horses and bulls, competing for 51 years and winning several world titles. She rodeoed until the age of 63, when she retired with five world championships in bareback bronc riding, 13 reserve championships in bareback, and 15 reserve championships in bull riding. She was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1993. She was inducted into the Idaho Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2015.

Martha Josey is an American professional rodeo cowgirl who specializes in barrel racing. She has been in active rodeo competition since 1964. She won the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) barrel racing world championship in 1980. She has earned numerous other titles at competitions such as the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) and events sanctioned by the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA), and WPRA. She also competed in barrel racing as an exhibition event during the 1988 Calgary Olympics, and is the founder and co-owner of the Josey Ranch Barrel Racing Clinic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alyvia Alyn Lind</span> American actress (born 2007)

Alyvia Alyn Lind is an American actress. She played the roles of Faith Newman on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless from 2011 to 2021, 9-year-old Dolly Parton in the made-for-television movies Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors and Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love, Angelica Green in the 2019 Netflix series Daybreak, and Lexy Cross in the 2021 SyFy/USA Network horror television series Chucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charmayne James</span> American barrel racer

Charmayne James is an American former professional rodeo cowgirl who specialized in barrel racing. In her career, She won 11 Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) barrel racing world championships, the most in history. She won ten consecutive world championships from 1984 to 1993, and then a final one in 2002. She qualified for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) 19 times and also won seven NFR barrel racing average titles in 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, and 2002. James retired her horse, Gills Bay Boy, nicknamed Scamper, whom she won the bulk of her titles with, in 1993 after winning her tenth world championship. James herself would retire from barrel racing in 2002 after winning her 11th world championship.

Sherry Cervi, is an American professional cowgirl who has won four world titles in barrel racing. Cervi won the barrel racing title at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in 1995, 1999, 2010, and 2013. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2018.

Mary Walker is an American former professional rodeo cowgirl who specialized in barrel racing. She won the Women's Professional Rodeo Association barrel racing world championship in 2012. Despite several traumatic events in the two preceding years, she persevered. She also became the oldest woman, at 53, in rodeo to win a world championship in the barrel racing event at the National Finals Rodeo. She was later surpassed by Mary Burger in 2016 when Burger won at age 68. She lost her only child to a car accident in 2011. Two months later, Latte, her horse, fell on her during competition and severely injured her. It was about a year and a half after these incidents that she won her world title. Walker was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wanda Harper Bush</span> American barrel racer (b. 1931)

Wanda Harper Bush was an American professional rodeo cowgirl. She competed in the Girl's Rodeo Association (GRA), now known as the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), and won two barrel racing world championships, in 1952 and 1953. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1978 and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2017. The August 2017 induction ceremony was ProRodeo's 38th annual event, and marked the first time in the event's history that the class of inductees included barrel racers from the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA).

<i>Walk. Ride. Rodeo.</i> 2019 film by Conor Allyn

Walk. Ride. Rodeo. is a 2019 American biopic directed by Conor Allyn from a screenplay by Sean Dwyer and Greg Cope White about the life of Amberley Snyder, a nationally ranked rodeo barrel racer who defies the odds to return to the sport after barely surviving a car crash that leaves her paralyzed from the waist down. It stars Missi Pyle, Spencer Locke, Bailey Chase, and Sherri Shepherd.

Fallon Taylor is an American professional rodeo cowgirl who specializes in barrel racing. She is the 2014 Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) Barrel Racing World Champion. She qualified for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) seven times between 1995–1998 and 2013–2015. She made her first NFR debut when she was 13 years old in 1995. Her horse BabyFlo was named the Women's Professional Rodeo Association/American Quarter Horse Association WPRA/AQHA Barrel Racing Horse of the Year in 2013.

Hailey Kinsel, is a four-time World Barrel Racing Champion. Kinsel won the title in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022 at the National Finals Rodeo. She has also won the NFR Average title once in 2020. Kinsel and her horses have qualified for the NFR six times in her years in professional rodeo, in 2017 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Kinsel has been competing in rodeo since adolescence, winning awards through high school and college in both barrel racing and breakaway roping, as well as professional rodeo. Her horse, Sister, won the Barrel Racing Horse of the Year Award in 2018.

Jimmie Gibbs Munroe is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame barrel racer inductee for 2019. Munroe is also the granddaughter of Zack Miller of the renowned Miller Brothers 101 Wild West Show. In addition, she also served in many positions on the Women's Professional Rodeo Association and helped advanced many causes for women competitors.

Sammy Thurman Brackenbury, is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame barrel racer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billie McBride</span> American barrel racer

Billie McBride was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame for barrel racing in 2018. She won the World Barrel Racing Championship title four times.

Callie duPerier is an American professional rodeo cowgirl who specializes in barrel racing. In December 2015, she won the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) barrel racing world championship at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Elenor "Sissy" Thurman, is a National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame 1975 inductee. She was also inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1978.

Margaret Owens was an American professional rodeo cowgirl. She was a two-time World Champion barrel racer. In December 1948 and 1951, she won the world championship. She was the first world champion for the Girls Rodeo Association, now known as the Woman's Professional Rodeo Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabella Miller (barrel racer)</span> Canadian barrel racer

Isabella Miller was a Canadian rodeo cowgirl, rancher and horse trainer. She was the Canadian barrel racing Champion in 1960 and 1969 and was a 5-time winner of the Canadian All-Around women's title. She was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2005.

Rayel Robinson is a Canadian horse trainer and barrel racing champion. She won the Canadian Barrel Racing Championship in her sport in back-to-back wins in 1990 and 1991, and repeated in 1999 and 2005. She was reigning champion of the Ponoka Stampede in 2005, 2006, and 2007. She trained Tia, the horse who was awarded the Most Heart designation of the Canadian Finals Rodeo in 1991 and 1992 and in a single year had five horses that she trained qualify for the Canadian Finals Rodeo. She was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2017.

Jessica Routier is a professional barrel racer who has competed in many rodeos all over the world. She has three National Finals Rodeo qualifications, and she has seven National Circuit Finals Rodeo qualifications.

References

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  4. "Amberley Snyder, 2009–10 p-date=2019-03-10". nationalffa.podbean.com.
  5. 1 2 "Despite being paralyzed, Utah State's Snyder continues chasing rodeo dream". trib.com. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  6. 1 2 "Rodeo champion offers message of inspiration to FFA members". capitalpress.com. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  7. 1 2 "Walk Ride Rodeo – Cowboys and Indians Magazine". cowboysindians.com. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  8. "CLN congratulates Casper, WY on celebrating their Sweet 16 with the CNFR". Cowboy Lifestyle Network. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  9. "And the winner is . . ". rfdtv.com. 2015-01-26. Archived from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  10. "Amberley Snyder Gets the Vote". Western Horseman. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  11. "Logan woman paralyzed from the waist down to compete in national rodeo event". Deseret News. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  12. "WPRA". Archived from the original on 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  13. "Partially paralyzed Utah barrel racer's story to hit Netflix" . Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  14. "The true grit of Amberley Snyder". Tri-State Livestock News. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  15. "Utah woman — the only paralyzed barrel racer in the U.S. — stars as a stunt double in Netflix movie about her life". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  16. "Amberley Snyder Featured on Yellowstone". COWGIRL Magazine. August 24, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.