by Carol Mowdy Bond
A southwestern Oklahoma native, Jay Snider hails from a ranching and rodeo family. “My grandfather bred and raised horses all of his life,” Snider says. “My dad was a rancher and rodeo cowboy and continued to raise and train roping horses through his adult life. He was a member of the National Senior Pro Rodeo Association. Both of those men gave me a solid foundation in the horse industry that I am passing on to my sons and grandchildren.”
Snider showed horses in halter and western pleasure in his youth, earning awards. He also rodeoed, and Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford awarded Snider its first rodeo scholarship.
These days, Snider and his wife of 52 years, Sandi, live in Cyril, Oklahoma, with their herd of ranch-bred horses. “We breed a few of our own mares to a stallion that we’ve owned for several years, and we breed a few outside mares,” Snider says. “We purchase a few young horses and keep them in training along the way. Our goal is well-broken, gentle ranch horses that can do a day’s work, or we can take them to the roping arena and be well mounted in several disciplines.”
Building Skills
The cowboys throughout Snider’s life have also served as creative muses. In the 1990s, chuck-wagon gatherings and ranch rodeos grabbed his attention.
“At those events, it seemed there was a poet or two and a few cowboy singers to listen to,” Snider says. “I love hearing the stories behind the poems and songs. I had thousands of old stories rattling around in my head at the time and wondered if I might be able to put them to rhyme. I got acquainted with other poets and cowboy vocalists and tried to hone my skills as a writer of poetry.”
Then Snider took to the stage with his cowboy poetry. “Traditionally, cowboy poetry is rhymed and metered poetry in honor of old cowboys of the past,” Snider says. “I strive to write traditional cowboy poetry.”
The word spread, and the Oklahoma Arts Council came knocking to see if Snider was interested in applying for the appointment of Oklahoma State Poet Laureate.
“I was sure that I was not poet-laureate material, but the arts council staff convinced me to apply,” says Snider, who is one of only three cowboy poets to have received the appointment. “All the while, I was thinking that the application would be promptly rejected and a ‘Dear John’ letter sent back to me. However, Governor Kevin Stitt appointed me to serve as the 2023–2024 Oklahoma State Poet Laureate.”
Snider’s term was about to sunset, and the Oklahoma Arts Council asked about a second term. He consented, and Stitt gave him a second nod with a term that began on January 1, 2025, and will continue through 2026.
Becoming a Favorite
Now an award-winning cowboy poet and recording artist who is a well-known favorite, Snider has released two CDs. On his CD The Old Tried and True, Snider reads a compilation of classic cowboy poetry by writers of the past.
Snider performs at national and regional events, with his travels spanning the United States and Canada. “I’m honored to have been invited to some of the largest and oldest poetry gatherings around the nation,” he says. His appearances have been numerous and prestigious, and he was a featured poet at the Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering for many years.
The Academy of Western Artists awarded Snider the Cowboy Poetry Re-
cording of the Year award for his CD Of Horses and Men in 2006 and then followed with Cowboy Poet of the Year
in 2008.
Preserving Traditions
Inspired by other cowboy poets, Snider says his poetry connects to his love of cowboy traditions and the cowboy’s “work ethic and morals and unwavering dedication to livestock and the land. His way of life has been documented in poetry and song for over 150 years. It has been my goal to simply keep the old stories and the traditions of the cowboy alive and well. I learned early on that documenting those old stories that I’d heard in my youth was very important. When the old-timers are gone, the stories are gone. Now that I am one, I hope I’ve documented some of the history of the cowboy.”
Snider’s writing process is straightforward. “I write mainly when the inspiration from a story, an event, or an experience appeals to me,” he says. “I try to always be aware that inspiration may be just around the next bend. It could come from a sight or a sound or a feeling brought on by any occasion. I do a lot of my thinking and writing in solitude. Those thoughts or lines can be lost as quickly as they came.”
Snider’s two sons and four grandchildren have embraced the ranch lifestyle. And Snider is working his ranch, but he also has pen in hand. His poetry preserves the rich history and heritage of Oklahoma and the American West — and the spirit of the cowboy way of life — for future generations.
