Tough call. Obviously it is smart to wear one, but should they be REQUIRED to? I don't know. We are required to do a lot of things that one would think should be choices, but those are normally for the good of society at large. Who is harmed if a bull rider decides to not wear a helmet and injures himself? Perhaps no one. But if he is injured and others have to help and put themselves at risk, perhaps there is cause for increased safety.

Personally, I would say the tradition of the sport prevails and that riders are given the option.

Cowboys shouldnt have to wear helmets, i bull ride yes im not a professional but when you ride in youth and open rodeos you have to till ur 18 and all you wanna do is ride with just a hat. Helmets are used by riders who have had concussions, facial injuries etc...

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if you get a gun out in a bar ( on a side note, i carry a gun EVERYWHERE and i do feel safer) you should EXPECT that 3 or 4 other people are gonna point a gun right back, and if you put your eye out with a screwdriver, you don't get to sue Craftsman, you just look more carefully with your GOOD eye next time.Designer Sarees

I am willing to guess based on what I have seen that a majority of riders do not wear them during practice. audio-technica ath-m50

I doubt it will ever be a requirement...I would prefer it to not be, but I would likely be grandfathered in since I've had a card so long, much like the guys that weren't wearing a vest back a few years

It begs the question- should bull riders be required to wear helmets? should all rough stock competition competitors? best facebook status

Just like most things in life, it should be your choice. In watching and photographing a ton of Bull Riders, I have seen it go both ways when it comes to safety. I am willing to guess based on what I have seen that a majority of riders do not wear them during practice. If you are forced to change the dynamics during competition, there is a higher possibility of injury due to not being used to them.

As a bareback bronc and bull rider i can tell you a lot of people have mixed feelings on helmets. this past weekend i had a little bad luck, went over the front of the bull and his horn smashed my face up pretty good. broke my jaw cheek bone eye socket and nose. 8 fractures all together. these animals are huge and poerful. helmets may help some but that bull would have smashed the facemask into me doing more damage than good. sure the helmet would have helped if i landed on my head but thats about it. besides that the 2 times i have worn one it just distracted me as well as making me a little over confident. but i know guys that would never get on without one. its really up to the rider. i think if they mandate it a lot of people will either quit riding or switch to timed events.

I guess I ride the fence on this. I am a dedicated PBR fan and I can see why there is a need to wear the helmets... However never being on the back of a bull I would think there would be a bit of a transition in getting use to one. Obviously the whole idea is to stay on the bull and get your rear out of the way when you either "graciously dismount--or not so graciously get bucked off". But I dont think it should be a mandatory thing. Highly recommended, but not required. If you're gutsy enough to get on one, then you gotta know the dangers of it. so I think it should be the riders choice.

As a long time motorcyclist, I understand this subject. I personally am offended when the Fun Police tell me I MUST do something. It's MY HEAD, so it should be my choice. The question here is not,"Is it a good idea to wear head protection when Bull Riding?" Of course it's a good idea. BUT, if anyone is so worried about injuries, what the heck are they doing on the bull in the first place? A motorcyclist understands this. It's the thrill of the ride. If one goes through life without excitement and challenges, life becomes boring. If one wants to minimize the chance of injury, he'll take appropriate steps. But, here again, it's the rider's choice. That's the way it should be.

After watching some videos on youtube helmets sometimes do more bad than good

i agree with 'quarter horseman'... im also in ohio and while riding a new horse it spooked and bucked me right off. i was wearing a helmet but the way i landed, the damn thing (the helmet) bout broke my nose... helmets dont always help but they make you feel invincible. then you get cockey and get bucked off... a mouth full of dirt and a bruised butt really knock you down a notch or two...

I am against the mandatory wearing of helmets for horse back riding and for bull riding. It gives the rider a False sense of security. If they choose to wear one; that is okay; but it should not be madatory. We now have here in Ohio a madatory helmet law for all 4-H horse memebers to show or ride at 4-H funtions; and I feel we need to do a better job of teaching our kids about the dangers and the safety needed around horses and also how to ride one correctly. The same would hold true with bull riders. I see many young bull riders who should be told to go back and learn the basics or get out of bull riding all together.

I feel it should be the rider's choice rather than mandated.

FYI -- A higher percentage of football players get killed playing football than bullriders do while riding bulls.

If you are willing to climb on to the back of a 1500 pound animal whose job it is to get you off as fast and as hard as they can then you already are a little crazy and a helmut probably just keeps the crazy in as much as it keeps the damage out. I have only ridden a few bulls in my life and a couple of crazy horses but I never wore a helmut and never felt any less safe. It seems to me that gettin in a car and driven home from the rodeo is more likely to kill you anyway and they don''t make you wear a helmut then.

i kow as being a bull rider that they recomend it to us but in the end its our decision if i want to take that chance i will its not no ones life but my own.some times when i do ride with one most of the time i dont cover my bull for the fact of the matter that i feel like i wont get hurt .but when i dont were one im grittin down and work to keep my face from his.in some ways were taken away from the sport.

i kow as being a bull rider that they recomend it to us but in the end its our decision if i want to take that chance i will its not no ones life but my own.some times when i do ride with one most of the time i dont cover my bull for the fact of the matter that i feel like i wont get hurt .but when i dont were one im grittin down and work to keep my face from his.in some ways were taken away from the sport.

well, i dunno about all that government stuff and "personal freedom" talk. it seems to me that a whole lot of Americans act like they are OWED something..really...speedin' around on your motorcycle, drinkin' on the boat, standin' up in the bed of a moving pickup, carrying a gun....but what happens when somthing happens? (and somthing ALWAYS happens) well, then somebody has to pay..and i don't mean symbolicly or metaphoricly either..i mean MONEY.
i shoulda wrote this in a blog....sheesh
i suspect people sue for two reasons;
1. easy money.... period
2. to steer attention away from the fact that one just made a colossally bad descision.
y'see, in Grantland, if you get a gun out in a bar ( on a side note, i carry a gun EVERYWHERE and i do feel safer) you should EXPECT that 3 or 4 other people are gonna point a gun right back, and if you put your eye out with a screwdriver, you don't get to sue Craftsman, you just look more carefully with your GOOD eye next time. WHEW this is gettin long winded!
when i get on a bull, i ask around, and if my draw is prone to setting a guy up in front, or even if he's just real fast going up, i wear a helmet that my traveling partner and i share...i know it isn't the answer to being completely safe, but it gives me a little peace of mind and confidence where i need it...and sometimes that's all you need!

I believe it's up to the rider. Way back when I was competing you were not even allowd to wear a baseball cap. Cody Hancock is our home town boy and he has had a great carrer even though last year he had some pretty rough times. If ya ever come to Taylor Az. and enter from the N. Look for the big sign that honors Cody.

definately not... if u want to so be it, smart choice, but i've been riding bulls most of my life and there are many bull riders in my family, 1 of us all wear a helmet. helmets can be safe but at the same time dangerous. i've met people who had their face stepped on wearing helmets and had to have the face mask bars surgecally removed from their face. one of my best friends had his jaw smashed cause his helmets face mask caved in on it when it got stepped on. i think its up to the cowboy and should be left as such

I am an over the hill old fart and back in the day we didn't have helmets.

I say anyone that wants to wear one is smart and it is fine with me but don't tell me I have to wear one.

For the sake of discussion lets say that all rodeo riders......all......roping etc too...... were wearing helmets.

What would be the next area needing protection? required kevlar vests? neck braces? leg protection? splints on all long bones?

where does it end?

want to make it like football where you cannot tackle the quarterback anymore. In a playoff game over the weekend a team was penalized for a horse collar tackle. defenders job is to stop the runner but he cannot grab him? Is it safer to have one guy hod him up while another creams him in an effort to cause a fumble.?

Has america given up all pretense of personal freedom and personal responsibility. do we want some governing agency to dictate our lives from cradle to the grave.?

A guy weighing a buck fifty climbing onto a ton of beef is not a safe activity. someone might get hurt. perhaps it should be banned (not).

Pay your money and take your chances.......and do it your way.

I love this question... For everyone of you who thinks this is simple and only goes to the bull rider - take a look around. This question goes to the heart of individual freedom and what one may expect from our governing bodies...

It stirkes me to my soul because of the helmet laws placed on motorcycle riders and what government intervention leads to. Will it be - you must wear a helmet when riding a bull. Than, you must wear a helmet when riding a horse. Than, you must wear a helmet when riding ANY stock. Than, than, than - you must wear a helmet when walking. Sounds ridiculous but where does it stop?

As a motorcyclist, we have been forced to wear helmets by govenment intervention and do-gooders that just do not understand where individual freedoms should be. They do not see that once you allow governments (governing bodies of organizations - PBR) to step in when they never step back and your freedoms are taken away. I see the day that children, drunks, speeders, etc etc and finally the average driver is forced to wear a helmet. It sounds ridiculous but it happens that way.

Yes, I believe in helmets... Always have and always will. I wore a helmet before helmet laws. BUT it was MY choice! It made sense, but I did not want the government taking away my freedom to make my choice, no matter how dumb it might be to go without a helmet.

I see it as a issue the riders have to come to themselves. The bull riding assoc. can recommend it to the riders, but I think making them wear it is going to far.

Well I definitely think its a wise decision to wear a helmet. Around here at certain arenas they require the youth to wear the helmets in order to be able to ride. So I guess it should be that persons choice, even if it is a good decision to make.

I don't think that bull riders or rough stock riders shouldn't be required to wear helmates. It's should be their own chose as to wheather or not they want to. the younger bull riders wear them because that's how they grew up riding. the older guys don't because that's just how they ride and always have.