Amberley Snyder spoke to a packed room of roughly 100 people during her afternoon session at Everything Equine on the Border, hosted at the Lloydminster Exhibition this past weekend. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Everything Equine on the Border returned to the Lloydminster Exhibition last weekend, and aside from the popular clinics and trainer’s challenge, one of the can’t-miss features was a presentation by championship barrel racer, pole bending and breakaway roping competitor, Amberley Snyder.
At 32 years old, Snyder is a living, breathing hero for many, especially young cowgirls looking to make it big as a competitive barrel racer.
Snyder gave two presentations at the Ex this past Saturday, including an afternoon session and an evening banquet session.
Aside from a mile-long resume full of equine accomplishments, many admire Snyder and her success due to the fact she’s had to overcome many obstacles after a car accident in 2010 left her paralyzed from the waist down.
Snyder didn’t let her accident control her life, however, and amazingly, a year and a half later she was back on a horse in competition. What’s even more amazing is the fact she rigged up a seatbelt to keep herself atop the horse.
“I think the biggest thing I want to get across to people is the fact we’re all going to have a challenge,” she said, also explaining the fact her horses really had to step up to the challenge of having a rider whose legs don’t work.
“We’re all going to have a struggle and something we face … you can’t compare yours to somebody else’s, and you have all of the strength inside you to handle the one that’s in front of you.”
After roughly five years of post-accident competition, Snyder decided she could serve her purpose as a motivational speaker.
“I was serving as Utah’s FFA president when I wrecked, so I gave a going-away speech about overcoming obstacles two months to the day after my accident, and I had written it prior to my accident,” she said.
“Then I wrecked and rolled on stage instead of walking to give that speech, so it kinda started there.
“After that, I started getting asked to speak at banquets and schools, then schools turned into businesses. Motivational speaking, however, didn’t become my real job until 2015. At that point, I came to the realization this was something I could do for the rest of my life.”
For Snyder, the most rewarding aspect of her new career path is watching the faces of people when they meet her for the first time.
“It’s constant validation that I’m serving my purpose,” she said.
“Even on the days when I say ‘this is not fun, this is not fair,’ I remind myself there’s people who look up to me, they’ve watched me go through this, and they’re gathering strength from me … so I tell myself ‘you can hang in there.”
This was also Snyder’s first time in the Border City, and the experience left her wanting more.
“This is my first time in Lloyd, and the crowd was great,” she said.
“I love getting to speak to a room of people who ‘get it.’ They’re equine people and we all have that common love and interest in what we like to do. I love the feeling in the room when that’s the case, and the crowd here today had really great questions, so I love having that. Today did not disappoint.”
