Motivational speaker Amberley Snyder, a professional barrel racer despite being paralyzed from the waist down, will talk tonight at 7:00 in the Chadron State College Memorial Hall Auditorium
Snyder’s presentation is free and open to the public, but seat reservations are suggested because of the anticipated size of the audience.
One of the most sought-after social influencers and motivational speakers in western sports, Snyder was a champion youth and high school rodeo competitor looking forward to college and college rodeo when a traffic accident left her paralyzed.
Snyder was driving from her home in Utah to the Denver Stock Show as a high school senior in 2010 when crossed the centerline while checking a map in Wyoming. She overcorrected and rolled her pickup.
She was ejected and slammed into a fence post, breaking her back. She underwent 5 hours of emergency surgery and was told by her doctor that she would never regain use of or feeling in her legs.
Snyder disagreed and 4 months later was back on her horse and just 18 months after the accident, she returned to competitive rodeo – with a seatbelt on her saddle.
The 2019 Netflix original movie Walk. Ride. Rodeo tells her story. Snyder was a producer on the film, served as her own stunt double, co-wrote the song, “Ride,” for the soundtrack and published a companion book for the film.
Snyder now competes in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association as a barrel racer and breakaway roper. She qualified for the PRCA Wilderness Circuit Finals in 2021 and 2022
Snyder also travels the nation sharing her story of triumph over tragedy, hoping to inspire others that no matter what happens, they have the strength to overcome it