When the clock strikes 5 a.m., Snyder, 15, wakes up and heads to her barn to tend to her horses.

“I’d rather do chores than go on vacation,” she said.

Snyder has a strong passion for horses, whether it’s caring for them or racing them. It’s her driven into a little known sport — at least in this area — called rodeo.

Snyder just so happens to be pretty good at it. She’s won multiple barrel-racing and pole-bending rodeo competitions and had top finishes in some major competitions.

Next week, Snyder and her family will hit the road for Rock Spring, Wyoming for one of the biggest competitions she’ll have ever competed in, when she takes part in the National High School Finals. It’ll also be the first time she has ever travelled that far out west.

“I’ve been up and down the east coast, but never out west,” Snyder said. “We went down to Florida in the beginning of April and raced down there. Then we’re going to Virginia in August.”

She’ll compete against more than 1,000 high school aged rodeo competitors from all over the U.S. from July 14 to 20. There will be plenty of tough competition. Recently, some high school students, who will be competing in Wyoming, have beat professional National Finals Rodeo competitors, the top rodeo organization.

“(The pros) have been breaking records and they’ve won millions of dollars and these high school students are beating them,” Snyder said. “I’m like ‘Great, that’s just what I need.’ But it’ll be a good experience to see what level we’re at.”

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Starting rodeo

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Inside Snyder’s stable are multiple ribbons and awards she garnered over the years in both barrels — an event where competitors ride their horse in a clover shaped pattern around barrels as fast as possible — and pole bending — a timed event where a horse and rider weave in and out around six poles set in a line.

Snyder’s long-term goal is to make the National Finals Rodeo. Her goal isn’t far out of reach.

Last year, she won the first division overall state championship and a saddle for both youth — under 18 — and open — over 18. In other words, she dominated the competition.

“(She) had an amazing year and it was incredible to watch them go to each year checking (her) way up to another division which means faster and sweeping everything which is incredible,” said Michelle Fletcher Snyder, Ashlyn’s mother.

Ashlyn Snyder has been riding horses since she was in diapers, as she got a bit older she found out she really enjoys the thrill of riding fast.

“I liked riding, but going fast was way more fun. I would always race my mom up the field and I generally won,” she said.

She learned about rodeo from her aunt, who competed when she was young and soon she wanted to try it for herself.

“I just wanted to start competing,” Snyder said.

As one can imagine, there aren’t many places in rodeo around the North Country region, so it took some time before Snyder’s mother found the right person to train her.

“On a whim, I searched for somebody that was into barrels and would teach round here and I was very fortunate to find Jen Merriman, who is her coach and has been a tremendous asset in her competition leveling up,” Fletcher Snyder said.

Now, about once a week, Snyder travels to Potsdam for lessons with her coach. Snyder’s also homeschooled so she can travel and train. Competitions are held at least three hours away.

While she lives in New York, she competes in the Vermont High School Rodeo Association because it’s closer to home and the New York organization travels all over the place.

But what separates Snyder from most riders is how much she knows about horses.

“She has an incredible mind when it comes to horses,” Fletcher Snyder said. “She could talk circles around most people.”

“Most of the time mom doesn’t even know what I’m talking about,” Snyder said.

Snyder uses that knowledge to mentor younger girls and riders in the area.

“I think in total there’s about four now. They range from 7 to 11 (years old). Some of minimal or no experience.” Fletcher Snyder said. “Ashlyn is just fantastic with them. She really proved herself to have quite a knack with interacting with people and especially with kids. To be able to go to their level and explain to them and introduce them to the majestic qualities of the horse.”

When her rodeo career is all said and done, Snyder hopes to run her own training facility for horses and kids, as well as a breeding facility to breed and raise her own horses.

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Her horse

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While Snyder and her family venture out for the well-over-30-hour drive to Wyoming, they’ll be leaving behind the horse that helped her qualify for the National High School Finals.

A little more than two weeks ago, Lilly, Snyder’s 20-year-old mare, tore her check tendon at a competition in Syracuse. Right away, Snyder knew something was wrong when she recorded a slower time than usual.

“She’s (now) on nine months of recovery,” she said.

Snyder will have to take her much younger horse, Skeeter, who is just 4-years-old.

“He’s still a baby and he’s in the development stage,” Snyder said. “Which is OK, because he’s faster, he just has to learn to use his brain a little bit.”

Skeeter is mischievous horse, according to Snyder. But he’s fast and that shouldn’t come as a shock — he’s a decedent of Bold Ruler, a horse best known as the sire of the 1973 Triple Crown winner and the fastest horse of all-time, Secretariat.

“He came out of Texas from my coach’s friends, Shelby, who trained him. He was born at Graves Quarter Horses, they’ve got some great quality bloodlines there,” Snyder said. “He is bred for it and he’s got great bloodlines. We’ve just got to put that in motion.”

Snyder admits she doesn’t have any big expectation for Skeeter, but just wants him to be calm, relaxed and to record some solid runs.

“If he wants to win a World Championship that’s fine too,” she said. “But I’m not expecting much.”

For the past two years, Snyder has pretty much had to train Skeeter on her own.

“He started on barrels but he wasn’t fully (trained),” she said. “So it’s been a great experience to sort of finish him and work with him. But I’ve learned a lot from him and we’re working together and getting there.”

The ultimate goal for her and her family is to just have a great experience in Wyoming.