Wild West Watercross brought its jet ski racing tour to the Sparks Marina, where 150 racers competed in various divisions.

Ryder Bliss races in the pro-am class, against all odds.

His father Nick Bliss says he vividly remembers what the doctors told him when Ryder was born.

"At one point when he was born, they were surprised he could open his eyes," Nick Bliss says. "They told us there's a possibility of not walking or talking."

Ryder was born with a condition so rare there isn't a name for it. Only about 30 cases have been confirmed worldwide.

At birth, Ryder had extra information on the long arm of his fourth chromosome, which has led to him suffering from a mild to moderate intellectual disability and low muscle tone.

His mother Jenni Bliss says he's been through special education and a host of other treatments.

"He was involved in occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy throughout his life," she says.

Nineteen years later and Ryder is doing a lot more than walking and talking. He works a full-time job, drives himself to races, and competes at the pro-am level.

His parents say they pushed him to try many different activities, and jet skiing was the one that stuck with him.

They didn't know a lot about it at first, but his dad says it made a lot of sense why he picked it.

"Where we live in Lake Havasu [City], it's the epicenter for jet ski racing," he says. "So, we bought him a jet ski, he watched YouTube, and then eventually some of the community came around and saw that he had some talent, so they got him into racing. And that was about four years ago."

Having overcome all odds, Ryder says going out and jet-skiing is a really exciting way to spend a weekend.

"It makes me really happy to out here with my friends, racing," Ryder says.

If you're out at the marina this weekend, you'll find Ryder piloting the purple number 492 jet ski.

He says there's a special meaning behind that number.

"My very first race was the Mark Hahn [Memorial 300] and my teammates' birthdays were in April and September, and mine is in February," he says.

Wild West Watercross is continuing their season finale through the weekend.

They have two races on Sunday, one at 10 a.m. and one at 12:30 p.m. There's plenty of time to see all of the racers take to the water.

Especially Ryder.