North Platte, Neb. –June 23, 2025 – It’s the last rodeo for bullfighter Zach Call.
The Seneca, Neb. native retired from professional bullfighting after the Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte June 18-21.
Call, who is 32 years old, got his start in rodeo as a youngster. In college, first at Dodge City (Kan.) Community College, then at Panhandle State University in Goodwell, Okla., he rode bulls. But he didn’t find a lot of success at it.
“I knew I wasn’t ever going to be good enough at it to go real far,” he said. He caught the attention of another Nebraska legend, bullfighter Miles Hare, who grew up in Gordon. “In a round-about way, he told me I was good at it,” so Call pursued the career.
In 2014, he got his PRCA card, and began working rodeos.
Since then, he has worked rodeos across the nation, including the Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte since 2017.
Call also mixed in some freestyle bullfighting: competitions between bullfighters, (with no riders riding the bulls), judged on the bullfighter’s ability to control and maneuver around the bull. In 2016, he was the runner-up at the Bullfighters Only World Finals, and the next year, he finished third at the Finals.
Of the things he’s enjoyed about his rodeo career, it’s the people who rank at the top.
“Most of my close friends are bullfighters,” he said. “They’re like family to me.” The rodeo committees are also special to him. “They treat you like family.’
He’s also loved the travel that comes with rodeo. “It’s been cool, going from state to state, seeing everything. Honestly, it’s been like a big vacation.”
Now living in Weatherford, Texas, Call has found a new passion: reined cow horses.
He was at a snaffle bit futurity when his interest was sparked. “It got my adrenaline going in my system again,” he said. “I hadn’t gotten that excited for something in quite a while. It is something that I think I can be competitive at. It’s the route I’m taking now.”
He has been training and riding performance horses for several years in Texas.
He loves the idea of competition. “I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t competing at something.”
Call’s decision to retire did not come easily. “I am being drawn two ways: training horses and bullfighting. I’m neglecting one or the other. It’s time for me to pursue one thing.
“I can train horses a long time. Unfortunately, bullfighting is a young man’s game.”
He chose to leave the bullfighting career while he was at the top of his game.
“I didn’t want to lose my step,” he said. “I wanted to walk away on my terms, and on good terms, too.”
Being in North Platte for his final rodeo performance was fitting, he said. It’s the closest pro rodeo to his hometown, and he was “tickled” when they hired him. It was also the first pro rodeo he attended as a child.
Call is the son of Craig and Lori Call.