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Cody Snyder

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Cody Snyder
Personal information
Birth nameCody Snyder
NationalityCanadian
Born (1963-03-28) March 28, 1963 (age 61)
Redcliff, Alberta, CAN
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg)
Websitewww.codysnyderbullbustin.com
Sport
SportRodeo
EventBull riding
Turned pro1980
Retired1993
Achievements and titles
Highest world rankingPRCA Bull Riding World Champion
CPRA Bull Riding Champion

Cody Snyder (born March 28, 1963) is a Canadian former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding and is a current bull riding event producer. Snyder made history as the first Canadian to win the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) World Championship title at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in 1983.[1] Snyder holds the highest-scored ride in Canadian rodeo history, scoring 95 points in 1983.[2] He is an inductee of the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame,[3] Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Ring of Honor,[4] Alberta Sports Hall of Fame[5] and most recently the Bull Riding Hall of Fame.[6] Since his retirement in 1993, Snyder has produced over 400 bull riding events across North America under his company Bullbustin’ Inc. He has also appeared as a color commentator for rodeo events on ESPN, OLN, Sportsnet, TSN, and CBC.[7]

Early life

Cody Snyder was born on March 28, 1963 in in Redcliff, Alberta. At five years old, Snyder rode a calf in a local rodeo competition and has been involved in the sport ever since. He began riding junior steers when he was eight years old, rode his first bull at the age of 12, and 15 earned the Canadian Amateur Bull Riding title.[8] One year later at the age of 16, he won the Canadian Cowboys Association Bull Riding Championship and obtained his official competitor cards to become a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA).[9][10]

Career

In 1982, when he was 19 years old, Snyder led the CPRA bull riding standings and finished 19th place in the PRCA world standings. Intending to build on his CPRA success the prior year, Snyder began the 1983 season with his sights set on making the National Finals Rodeo (NFR).[11] Ranked second in the world in during that season, Cody was invited to the Presidential Command Performance in Landover, Maryland. Concluding the performance, he was invited to the White House in Washington, DC, where he met the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan.[12]

Snyder not only achieved his goal of qualifying for the 1983 finals, he made history by becoming the first-ever Canadian PRCA World Champion Bull Rider and was crowned at the 1983 NFR in Oklahoma City.[1] That same year, Snyder made history again by scoring the highest-scored bull ride in Canadian rodeo history. The historic 95-point ride on Northcott's #96 Confusion at the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) still stands to this day.[2][13]

At the start of the 1985 rodeo season, Cody was drafted by Wrangler to ride for the Willie Nelson Wranglers Team for the PRCA Winston Pro Tour.[14] The tour was comprised of top-tier Professional Rodeo competitors that were divided into 18 individually sponsored teams. The Willie Nelson Wranglers debuted in Austin, Texas at the Coors Challenge on September 5th, 1985.[15]

In 1986, Snyder won the CPRA Bull Riding Championship to conclude another successful rodeo season.[16] In 1987, Snyder sustained a severe wrist injury, breaking his scaphoid bone at the CFR. The injury went undetected for the next five years, and in February 1992, Dr. J. Pat Evans diagnosed what would be Snyder’s career-ending injury. After requiring three screws and a partial wrist fusion, Snyder took the rest of the 1992 rodeo season off to recover from surgery.[8]

Snyder returned after his year long hiatus and started the 1993 season off at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado competing post-wrist surgery. After dislocating his shoulder in February at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, Snyder officially announced his retirement.[8]

Snyder ended his career with four NFR qualifications in 1983, 1984, 1986, and 1987, and held the record at the time for the most CFR bull riding qualifications at nine.[17]

Retirement

In May 1993, just three months after his retirement, Snyder alongside his wife Rhonda co-founded Bullbustin' Inc., a professional bull riding production company. Together they produced the first standalone bull riding event in Canada at the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Alberta.[18] Bullbustin' Inc. was also the first production company to incorporate pyrotechnics into their bull riding events, a feature that is widespread across rodeo today.[19]

Bullbustin’ Inc. has produced over 400 events across North America such as the PBR Canadian National Finals, PRCA Xtreme Bulls, Bud Light Cup Series and various charity and private events. These events have been televised on TSN, Versus, NBC, CBS, and Fox.[20][8]

Cody has been seen as a rodeo color commentator on OLN, ESPN, TSN, Sportsnet and CBC covering rodeo and bull riding events across the world. Snyder was chosen as the color commentator for the exclusive 11 event PRCA Pro-Rodeo Winter Tour featured on OLN in 2003 and 2004, and was the voice of the Calgary Stampede from 1997-2020.[8]

Snyder was also selected as the team Canada coach for the PBR World Cup Series in 2007 (Gold Coast, Australia), 2008 (Chihuahua, Mexico), 2009 (Barretos, Brazil), and 2010 (Las Vegas, Nevada).[21][22][23]

Most notably, the Cody Snyder Charity Bullbustin’ held in Calgary, Alberta, has raised over $3 million for local charities and has been a landmark event in the city since 1999.[24]

Snyder now resides on a ranch west of Okotoks, Alberta, with his wife Rhonda and two daughters, Jordyn and Reese.[25]

Honours & Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c "World Champions (Historical)". Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Canadian Pro Rodeo Records" (PDF). Rodeo Canada. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame 2005". Canadian Rodeo Historical Association. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b "PBR Heroes & Legends". PBR. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Cody Snyder". Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Cody Snyder". The Bull Riding Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Top 10: The Greatest Bull Riders in Canadian History". Everything Cowboy. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e "About Cody". Bullbustin. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Past Champions". Canadian Cowboys Association. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  10. ^ "PBR Ring of Honor". Richard Beal Blog. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  11. ^ "History of the Grandstand - Looking back at bull riding in 1983". SaskToday. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Looking Back at Command Performance Rodeo". PRCA. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Canadian Rodeo Historical Association". Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Pro Rodeo Sports News". PRCA. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Winston Tour Paved Way for Wrangler Champions Challenge". PRCA. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  16. ^ "Canadian Professional Rodeo Association Champions 1945-2018". Pro Rodeo Canada. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  17. ^ "2005 Hall of Fame Inductees". Canadian Rodeo Historical Association. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Calgary Herald". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  19. ^ Flint Rasmussen (6 July 2023). "According to Flint". Youtube (Podcast). Event occurs at 27:30. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  20. ^ "PBR Ring of Honor Cody Snyder". Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  21. ^ "World Leaders in Bull Riding Compete in World Cup". BanderasNEWS. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  22. ^ "Cody Snyder". Global News. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  23. ^ "In the Corral". Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Giving Back". Cody Snyder Bullbustin’. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  25. ^ "2005 Inductees". Canadian Rodeo Historical Association. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
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