story by Lily Weinacht
Zach Hall with his wife, Jamie and three year old son, Braxton
– Courtesy of Karissa Wilson White
Zach Hall is the SPRA’s Calf Roping Director. The 30-year-old from Lexington, Tenn., has been competing with the association for three years, competing in both tie-down roping and team roping as a header, and serving as one of their directors for the last two years. Originally from Georgia, Zach’s family had horses, but had never pursued rodeo. When Zach was 12, his dad took him to their friend Dennis Bandy’s home to watch several local cowboys practice. “Since then, rodeo is all I’ve ever done,” says Zach. “I quit playing all my sports and began rodeoing. Dennis hazed for me in the steer wrestling and taught me everything until I left for college. Through high school, my friend Daryl Mathews really helped me step up my game and told me that there were no limits – I could rope as good as I wanted to.” Zach adds, “I also want to thank my parents for the years of hauling me, standing behind me, and giving me the horses I needed.”
Following four years of high school rodeo – winning the steer wrestling, team roping, and all-around titles at the Georgia state high school finals his senior year – Zach packed his gear bag and left for college rodeo at Howard College in Big Spring, Texas. A year later, he returned home, having decided he wanted to work in his family’s business and rodeo outside of college. Several years later, he married his wife, Jamie, and they moved up to her family’s farm in Tennessee. Jamie breakaway ropes in the SPRA, while she and Zach also compete in the PCA and Lone Star Rodeo Company, where Jamie won the year-end breakaway roping and Zach won the year-end tie-down roping in 2012.
Zach and Jamie’s farm is situated several miles outside of Lexington. Their three-year-old son, Braxton, loves to ride with his parents on his pony, which goes along to all of the rodeos with the big horses. “Braxton gets to ride in the grand entries, and he thinks he’s something else,” Zach says with a laugh. “Rodeo is ten times more fun doing it as a family than it was when I was going up and down the road by myself!
With rodeos nearly every weekend, Zach spends his weekdays training horses for the public, and starting colts. He and Jamie raise cattle and horses, standing a blue roan stud. “We feed first thing in the morning, then saddle up after lunch and ride until dark,” says Zach. “We sell a lot of calf horses too, so we have quite a few horses coming in and out.” Zach’s own roping horses include a roan named CC, which he bought in Waco, Texas, several months ago. “She really fits me – she’s real honest and she has a lot of run.” Previous to roping off his mare, Zach was riding his wife’s roping horse, a Paint called Little Bit, who took Zach to numerous finals and won him several championships.
When the work is done, Zach, Jamie, and Braxton love to spend a day at the beach or go sledding in the mountains in the winter. But rodeo is what they really love best. “Braxton is really showing an interest in rodeo, and nowadays, my goals are to give my little boy every opportunity that I had in rodeo,” Zach finishes. “If rodeo is something he really wants to do, I’ll stand behind him and give him every chance to be the best!”
