The question I get asked more often than any other is, "Why don't they all wear helmets?" By an informal count, about half of the riders in the Built Ford Tough Series wear them, half don't. When I first started watching bull riding, I figured that helmets prevented two things: the crushing of heads and faces, and concussions. Helmets keep the head and face in one piece, yes. Every time a bull bucks in the chute and throws a rider's face against the railings, or a rider's face collides with the bull's head or horn, often the use of the helmet is the one thing that stands between the rider and reconstructive surgery. But concussions are a velocity injury and a helmet can't counter the speed at which head collides with ground, horn, bull, or chute.
Many riders have worn helmets since they started riding steers as children. Some riders start wearing them after a major facial or cranial injury. Some just start wearing helmets because over time they are convinced that it is a good idea. But many still choose to wear hats. Some feel that their balance and visibility are negatively affected by helmets. But the main reason for hats is tradition. The thinking - and it is reinforced by centuries - is that cowboys wear cowboy hats. If I were a bull rider, I'd struggle with that idea myself. Even the riders who wear helmets take them off the second the ride is over, and the hat goes back on the minute the rider gets out of the ring. That helmet is only on that head for maybe a minute total, but it's an important minute.
Many riders have worn helmets since they started riding steers as children. Some riders start wearing them after a major facial or cranial injury. Some just start wearing helmets because over time they are convinced that it is a good idea. But many still choose to wear hats. Some feel that their balance and visibility are negatively affected by helmets. But the main reason for hats is tradition. The thinking - and it is reinforced by centuries - is that cowboys wear cowboy hats. If I were a bull rider, I'd struggle with that idea myself. Even the riders who wear helmets take them off the second the ride is over, and the hat goes back on the minute the rider gets out of the ring. That helmet is only on that head for maybe a minute total, but it's an important minute.
The other question I am frequently asked is why the PBR doesn't require helmets. The protective vest is required equipment, but the helmet is not. In the beginning, the helmets worn by bull riders were adapted from other sports, most frequently hockey. Because a helmet had not been made specifically for bull riders and for the specific dangers of bull riding, the PBR could not officially require one. This would be the equivalent of, say, the NFL requiring use of a helmet that was not developed for use by football players. The legal consequences alone would be a nightmare. Bull riding helmets are in development, however, and I am told that it is likely that the PBR will eventually require their use.
As far as preventing concussions in bull riding, the only way to do it is probably to stop riding bulls. Some studies suggest that the type and depth of playing surface may make a difference in the frequency of injury in some sports. Some say that strengthening the neck might help prevent concussions or possibly decrease their severity in some cases. (This makes sense when you take a second to notice that it's the thing that's holding our head up. It's also commonly neglected in strengthening routines.) New research will help us understand concussions and their effects. New ways of treating them will be developed. There are studies underway to determine whether wearing a helmet may decrease the severity of concussions or shorten the duration of symptoms. But in bull riding, "occupational hazard" is the best way to put it. The only way to avoid them entirely is to get out of the arena.
