In An Instant Amberley Snyder Ten Years After

January 2020 marks ten years since the accident that left Amberley Snyder wheelchair bound. COWGIRL sits down with the inspirational cowgirl to reflect on this monumental decade.

- Ken Amorosano

On a frigid winter afternoon outside Rawlins, Wyoming, Amberley Snyder’s life changed in an instant.

It was chance distraction that caused her pickup truck to fade across lanes and when the young rodeo prospect over-corrected to get back into her lane, her truck careened off the highway and began a violent roll.

She was ejected with such force that her petite body snapped the fencepost, moving it and the attached wires some 20 feet. She landed on her back in a snowbank. The bloody gash on her forehead was later determined to come from a strike from her own shinbone, where several locks of her fine blond hair were embedded.

But she was alive.

In the distance, her mangled pickup truck lay silent as the impact of the accident began to set in. She could not feel her legs. Perhaps it was fate that she survived the crash. She didn’t have her seat belt fastened and it could be what saved her life considering truck cab’s extreme damage.

Or perhaps, it was a divine intervention, because in an instant the life of the headstrong rodeo competitor had purposely changed forever. Amberley Snyder was meant to do something greater.

Amberley’s recovery from the accident is well-documented and remarkable. In just a matter of months, she was back atop her beloved horse. Almost instantly, she became a source of inspiration for anyone who came to know her story.

January 2020 marks the 10th anniversary of her accident as well as her 29th birthday. In the 10 years since, Amberley’s road to recovery has not only been an inspiration to many, it has also been a journey for her family and friends, who, to this day, stand firmly by her side as she continues to grow and help others.

Amberley is a busy gal. As a motivational speaker, she travels extensively and has crafted a career that serves as a way to make a living as well as way to give back.