On the eve of his high school graduation, bullfighter Ryland Kirk signed a letter of intent in Milano High School’s library in front of friends and family to continue his career at Hillsboro’s Hill College.
“It’s kind of bittersweet you know,” Kirk said. “It’s hard leaving behind all the friends I’ve made and people I’ve grown fond of.
“But again, I’m going to college to do something I love. Going on to this next chapter is quite exciting and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.”
Kirk, who also played multiple sports at Milano, spent his time away from school at the rodeo arena, something he’s been doing since before he even started elementary school.
“I was three or four years old, riding calves and sheep, and I eventually got into bull riding,” Kirk said. “But I kind of grew out of that and started bullfighting.
“For the past two or three years, I’ve been doing that.”
Although he’s been on the rodeo circuit for much of his life, it wasn’t until this past year that the recent MHS grad knew he’d have a chance at earning a scholarship as a matador.
“I’ve really grown, so me and my Dad hit some competitions and we really excelled,” Kirk said. “I had a bunch of people tell me I could do it, so (I did it).”
Hill College’s Rodeo team is known to people in the circuit as a top notch program with some of the best fighters and riders from all over the globe.
The Hillsboro school is also the alma mater of Rockdale native Ezekiel Mitchell, who is currently the Professional Bull Riding circuit’s 32nd-ranked rider in the world and was top-ranked at in late 2018.
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