Above: Tammy, Sue, and Cynthia Burkman on August 24, 2024, celebrating Sue’s 80th birthday at the Agua Dulce Women’s Club. Many “horse friends” from throughout the years came to celebrate.
By Caitlin Pigott
People who love horses know that there is an unspoken language, a way to communicate with them through so much more than words. It’s a language of heart, love, and connection, but seldom does this language make a sound. This language runs through the women of the Burkman family, including Sue (mother), Tammy (daughter), and Cynthia (daughter). They all share an undeniable talent and inclination to spend time with horses. Their records and accomplishments make that clear enough as if their quiet, “horse whisperer” tendencies don’t speak for themselves. Pun intended.
In talking with Sue, this is inherent to them all but also influenced by how her mother’s life unfolded. Her parents grew up and lived in Europe until Sue was a young girl. Sue says when they came to America, “my mother could not speak English, so she spoke to animals.” She had grown up riding horses, so it was a natural progression to begin working with horses in their new home. At eleven years old, Sue got her first horse – an American Saddlebred – and as they say, the rest was history. Sue was obsessed with teaching this horse anything and everything she could, from tricks to commands. She worked at sales yards in an effort to get more saddle time. In her free time, she worked horses at her parents’ farm and anywhere else she could. Horses were her priority and her passion. This was in her blood from her mother and would be passed on to her daughters as well.
Eventually, Sue and her husband made their way to California, and Sue’s professional career as a trainer began. It started as a small operation with a couple of horses they purchased. In a short time, Sue had a barn full of all kinds of horses. She was not picky about the breeds; she just wanted to be able to work with horses as much as possible.
Because of their mother’s passion and profession, her daughters also spent their childhood around horses. These two were undeniably connected to their mom through their love of horses.
“I did anything I could to be around horses,” says Cynthia, Sue’s younger daughter. “They were my biggest focus always. From a young age, horses have been the center of my universe and what I shaped most of my decisions around.”
Her older sister Tammy had the same “no-brainer” experience as she and her mother when it came to making horses their career and life focus. Both sisters share the same undeniable passion that their mother and her mother did, making the unspoken language found between horses and people the first language in their homes and hearts.
“Watching my mom work with horses was definitely my deciding factor to pursuing it myself,” Tammy says. “I knew I could never be stuck in an office, and I love the process of watching horses and riders develop into their greatest potential.”
Sue changed her role as Tammy and Cynthia grew up and began pursuing their professional careers, especially within the Arabian horse community. She helped the girls by giving some lessons, helping guide them through being business owners, and, of course, always being a listening ear. Tammy and Cynthia have amassed dozens of championships, reserve championships, and top tens at the national and regional levels. Along with their successes, their amateur and youth riders have consistently been in the winner’s circle of the same arenas for multiple decades.
Sue and Half-Arabian AR Royal++ winning the Park at Region 3 in 1974.
L to R: Sisters Cynthia on Overlook Jordji+++ and Tammy on *Paradise in 1981.
“I realized I had ‘been there, done that’ in terms of my career,” Sue says about the change in her priority. “I thoroughly enjoyed watching Tammy and Cynthia compete and wanted to focus on their needs. I will always have memories of my time competing. But, nothing matches the joy I get from watching them and their riders find success and joy with the horses.”
Sue has traveled throughout the United States and Canada, watching Tammy, Cynthia, and their clientele excel in performance. She is so proud of her daughters’ many accomplishments in the show arena. But, when asked about some of her favorite memories from this era, she recounts the things that deepened their bonds over any ribbon or trophy. She talked about singing along to their favorite songs to pass the time in long drives and other things that strengthened their mother-daughter and sister-sister bonds. The horses are a vessel in this family.
“I loved seeing how passionate my mom was when teaching horses and riders,” Tammy said. “To still be doing this with my sister is just amazing. Getting to chat through things, offer advice, lend a helping hand, and do whatever else is needed is just so special to me. I feel that we are very close as a family because of the horses and the wonderful people and horses we have met along the way.”
Cynthia also appreciates the comfort of having her sister at the shows and in the same industry as her. “It is great to have each other at the shows for support and encouragement. We help each other in any way that we can, which makes going to shows and having this as a job all the more enjoyable.”
These women have inspired each other and many others throughout their careers. Being a “woman of the world” means that other women know they can look to them for advice, support, and encouragement. Sarah Esqueda has uniquely engaged with all three women in meaningful ways from a young age.
“Sue, Tammy, and Cynthia are great representations of what it means to be “women of the world” because of all the people they help along the way,” Sarah said. “Not only are they talented, but they are also some of the nicest people you will ever meet. They truly don’t understand how many people look up to them and admire the hard work they do. They have all taught me to enjoy the ride of life because you never know where it may take you.”
These women have become beacons in the Arabian horse industry for their success, accomplishments, and who they are as people. Many of their qualities – as articulated by Sarah’s comments – are commonalities they share.
“My mom emphasized the importance of being upfront and honest,” Cynthia, owner of Burkman Centre, shared. “She always valued telling clients the truth and being as open about the facts as you can.”
Her sister Tammy – owner of Tamera Burkman Equine – garnered very similar lessons from their mom.
“The biggest lesson I learned from my mom is in honesty to say it like it is,” Tammy shared. “I have taken that advice and use it in my way that works with my clients, but I truly believe that being straightforward with expectations is super important.”
Sue taught her girls to be honest, an excellent quality and a sign of a “woman of the world.” Their story of their innate horse(wo)menship goes back generations and will live on in themselves and the people they have touched along the way.
