Tymber Burkey
BY ISAIAH FRIZZELL
Of all the banks in the Wood River Valley, Wells Fargo may have the most friendly tellers of all. One you’ll see daily is Tymber Burkey. Burkey was born here, moved to Nevada until the age of 10, and moved back, like so many who leave and return. However, it was her family that ferried her.
Soon to be 21 years old, Burkey is affable, funny and sharp with money. A slight smile on her face, Burkey is enigmatic. “I’m a very shy person.The bank has helped me kind of break out of my shell and be more talkative than I have been. It’s been great for me.”
She deals in a deceptively funny, dry humor, and Burkey has an interesting history unlike many, having been in rodeo since the age of 2. “I was being ponied around by my mom while going around the barrels,” Burkey laughs.
“I’ve been raised around horses my whole life. It’s been a whole thing. There’s a picture of me as a baby on my mom’s old horse with the biggest smile on my face. So right then and there my parents knew they were screwed.” Burkey laughs, and again it’s clear where her passion lies.
“Rodeo has been a part of my life the whole way since we’ve been here. So when we moved to Idaho, it gave me a bigger opportunity to be part of rodeo. I didn’t start high school rodeo until, like, eighth grade.”
An adamant horse whisperer, Burkey’s way with horses is legendary. As she extolls, “I didn’t have the best horses going into high school. I just had bred ranch horses, not like everybody else who had these fancy rope horses. No, I had the ranch horses off the range. And let me tell you, my horses competed and they took me and they beat some of the best horses in the whole high school rodeo. They didn’t have any papers or fancy bloodlines that all these other horses had. And my goat-tying horse, Champ, actually is optimally my best friend. He’s done everything for me. He took me to state high school rodeo three times in a row for goat-tying.
“There’s no words I can use to describe this horse. He is, honestly, not the best looking horse. He’s got a crooked foot. But whenever I went out on him, all the girls tried to catch my time. When I went and they saw him go, they just wanted to catch me. And I had offers for that horse after high school rodeo. People wanted to buy him and I was, like, no, I can’t let him go. He’s going to live his life out here. He has earned it. He’s done.”
Burkey is quite the illustrator and can draw horses like Clint Eastwood drew guns. Having won five rodeo queen championships, she’s set to ride in the upcoming rodeo in July.
Ask her about Champ. Ask her about her upcoming rodeo. Ask her for small bills. The bank is often a quiet place but there’s always room for friendliness and conversation that bolsters relationships.
