Amberley Snyder: Barrel Racing Inspiration

trying to figure out why she could wiggle her fingers but not her toes. After she was Life Flighted to a Rawlins Wyo. hospital doctors told her shed likely never move her legs again.
But within four months of her accident a determined Snyder was in the saddle again aboard her beloved horse Power. While the occasion was joyous she says it was also sobering because it was at that moment that she realized that nothing not even riding horses was going to be the same again.
Amberley had already trained her gelding Power before her accident so she was able to use her hand cues to keep competing with him. Photo by Lauren Anderson Photography
Honestly after I got back on Power for the first time there was a spot where I quit for nine months because I didnt think I was going to be able to train anymore Snyder reflects. Questioning my abilities is what made me take a step back and reevaluate everything. Later I realized it would be fine if I couldnt train. I was just going to have to make it work and if that meant buying broke horses from there thats what Id have to do.
While Snyder adjusted to life riding in a saddle with Velcro straps across her hips and around her legs Power learned to adjust to a new way of cueing. Fortunately the black gelding was already equipped to handle everything Snyder had to teach him.
Power was the last horse I trained before my accident happened she says. I had taken him to a clinic in the fall before the accident with Shirley Ankrum. She was telling us the importance of being able to communicate with your horse through your hands and your feet. With her influence I actually retrained Power prior to my accident because I realized how important it was to talk to him with my hands as much as my legs during a run at barrels. It was totally an everything happens for a reason thing.
In 2015 Snyder competed at the richest oneday rodeo in the world The American as the fans exemption contestant. After her run on Power over 40000 fans gave her a standing ovation.
That experience is hard to put into words Snyder says. It was surreal. From the time we woke up in the morning to the contestant meeting to practicing to competing surrounded by a bunch of