Page 92 - 2018 Barrel Stallion Register

my horse and help get him ready. I usually have someone throw my saddle on and I cinch him up and pull my boots on and somebody throws me on. I’m good to go from there.”
She admits one of her biggest challenges post-accident has been learning to accept help. “I love being independent and doing absolutely everything by myself,” she says. “From 5 years old, I wanted to have a pony just so I could sad- dle it by myself. So to have that mentality and then to realize that to do everything, I’ve got to have help can be frustrating. Being patient and grateful and not getting frustrated and irritated is something I still have to work on every day.”
Looking to the future, she recently bought her next mount, a 2-year-old palomino named Its About Time Guyz, another Frenchmans Guy colt out of Streakin Six mare Streakin For Sue. She settled on his barn name, Aztec, by polling viewers of her Facebook page. “He’s only two, so I’m just riding him in the round pen and letting him get used to how I feel on him,” she says.
“I work with him in my TrackChair so that’s been really fun,” she says. “I hadn’t done that with any of my horses because I hadn’t figured out how I would [accomplish it], but I’ve discovered I can use it in the round pen to work them and gain their trust.”
Amberley admits she does, at times, become discouraged. “There are definitely moments when I get down and frustrated about not being able to do everything I want to do. When that happens, I allow myself to feel that way. I feel
we all have to let ourselves feel upset sometimes. Then I tell myself, ‘Okay, now what are we going to do about it?’ I can’t change some of the situa- tions I have to deal with, so I just have to figure out what I’m going to do with it from there.”
MOTIVATING & INSPIRING
The same determination that got Amberley
her palomino and brought her success in the rodeo arena both before and after her accident has factored into her success in life outside the pen as well. In May 2015, she earned her bachelor’s degree in agri- cultural education while competing on Utah State University’s rodeo team, and is now doing intern- ship hours for a master’s degree in school counseling.
Most days she’s up and out of the house by 7 a.m., drives an hour to school, and from 8 to 3 she’s getting in her internship hours. When she
gets home, her sister Autumn is getting home from school, and they decide which horses to ride and what to work on that day. After 3–4 hours in the saddle, the family works together to feed (Amberley gets the grain while someone else throws the hay).
“My family is the big reason I can still do what I do,” she says. “They’re a huge support and a huge encouragement. They see those hard days and still believe in me and everything I do. We make a good team and work together to get everything taken care of.”
As if training, rodeoing and earning a master’s didn’t keep her busy enough, Amberley also shares her experiences and inspires others through motivational speaking for about 60 or- ganizations each year. “The ability to inspire and motivate others is absolutely, hands-down the best thing that has come out of my accident,” she says. “It’s humbling when somebody comes up and tells you that you’re their hero or they found strength to keep going because of you.”
To help and encourage others with challenges similar to hers, Amberley has initiated what she calls Wheelchair Wednesdays: a short video on social media each week that offers tips on how
Amberley speaks for approximately 60 organizations each year, calling the experience “humbling.”
she accomplishes everyday tasks that have become a challenge since her accident, from leading and mounting her horse to fueling her truck.
“I’ve gotten to meet some really neat people [through speaking] and I’m inspired by knowing that no matter how hard life gets, there are still people looking up to me and finding encourage- ment from my story,” she says. “Knowing that someone is looking up to you gives you the strength to keep going even on the days that aren’t so great. Times get hard for everybody, but if you give up, you’ll never realize how far you could’ve gone; there’s no future in giving up.”
For more on Amberley, visit www.facebook. com/amberleylanasnyder/ and http://www.amber- leysnyder.org/my-story/ .
“Times get hard for everybody, but if you give up, you’ll never realize how far you could’ve gone; there’s no future in giving up.”
90 SPEEDHORSE