Comp II – ENG 1213
Proposal for Bull Riders to Wear Helmets
November 28, 2012
John Cox

My proposal is should professional bull riders be required to wear protective helmets during sanctioned professional bull riding events. There are many different reasons why bull riders should be required to wear protective gear that could save their lives. Many of the riders still will not ever consider wearing any sort of protective gear a chance. There are many things to consider in when someone should be made to do something or not. It could be for money, pride or even physical well being. So when people say that you should not be required to wear protective gear when you are bull riding they are sorely mistaken. Like for instance in football players are required to wear helmets and protective padding and baseball players are required to wear helmets when they are batting. There was one study published that found bull riders were around ten times more likely to get hurt than a football or hockey players where likely to. Another concluded that head trauma accounts for about half of all serious bull riding injuries. To me though wouldn’t you say that a 2,000 pound bull stomping on your head is more dangerous than a man hitting you? Then you have the people who will argue with you saying that professional bull riders are so suppose to be made out like these tuff guys. It is beginning to change though as professional riders finally realize this is a business and what they earn and that with fewer concussions and injuries they will be able to have a long career in bull riding. In my opinion I would say that the guys who do wear the protective gear are the smart ones, because if bull riding is all you have ever done and you get a career ending injury then what are you going to do. It is a sad fact but unfortunately, only 25% of bull riders wear the proper protection gear but although helmets designed for bull riding have shown a reduction in head trauma. See that just shows that it truly works. But one good thing that the PBR is doing is making Helmets required for riders under the age of 18 years.
Today, bull riding would be classified as you would say a very extreme sport but though the rules are very basic. A rider sits on the back of a bull that is very agitated that he is on the back of him and the bull rider tries to hold on to what seems like a very short eight seconds but probably feels like one of the longest eight seconds. They have a medical staff that goes on tour with them to all the venues that usually consists of three athletic trainers, an orthopedic surgeon and a local physician provided usually by the venue. Most all bull riders are in outstanding physical condition, but that will not stop a raging 2,000 pound bull from stomping on them and injury them very severely or in extreme case death. A cowboy’s hat may seem to kind of act as the invisible protective barrier that keeps a rider from needing stitches or even death. But rodeo officials estimate just fewer than 40 percent of adult riders now wear helmets, which is a lot better than from when it was only at ten percent five years ago. Even some of the sport’s greatest bull riders where protective gear like for instance they don them are B.J. Schumacher, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's 2006 world bull-riding champion, and also J.B. Mauney, the Professional Bull Riders' 2006 rookie of the year. So if big names like these guys are doing it then why these other should guys feel like when they do wear them they feel weak. To me that is not feeling weak that is being smart and responsible because if your injured and you’re not riding then you’re not making any money and when you’re not making any money then who is going to pay the medical bills and everything else that is adding up. Some riders even complain that the helmets are heavy and bulky and block their vision or prevent only “superficial” injuries. The riders that don’t use them say a few helmets might even boost injury risks by giving riders a false sense of security. To that I say there was a study that said from 81 cowboys during the 1999 season found that helmets cut head injuries by half if not more. A quote from one bull rider Ty Murry sums up what most riders are probably thinking. The quote says:
“It’s just a cowboy thing…America, the whole idea of the iconic cowboy wearing a hat – any other sport people would say, ‘yeah, they should wear a helmet’.”
To me this explains exactly why bull riders don’t wear helmets, and why most of the population doesn’t associate bull riding as a sport that should require helmets.
One of the most important things that people fail to remember when making an argument over whether or not bull riders should wear helmets is that bull riding ranks in the top ten of the most dangerous sports in the world. Not only is it the most dangerous but riders must also remain in tip top athletic condition, maintaining workout schedules like that of other professional athletes. When I think about a 150 pound man going up against a 2,000 pound bull with little protection except from the clothes on his back and the two rodeo clowns ready to help, that image right there is enough to make me want all the protection in the world, think if you will for a moment about a famous Oklahoman by the name of Lane Frost. Lane frost was one of the youngest professional bull riders in the circuit and he was also one of the youngest riders to meet his untimely death at a young age. Frost was killed by the bull he was riding because he came off of the bull in the wrong direction, and the rodeo clowns were unable to get there in time to save him before the bull rammed one of his horns into frosts side. Now granted if frost had be wearing a helmet that wouldn’t have helped saved his life, but the fact that he had little to no protection at all was the key factor. Bull’s aren’t like other professional athletes. For example in football when you are the quarterback and you have a 300 pound left tackle coming towards you, your able to somewhat predict his moves and brace yourself for the tackle, unlike the bull rider who is almost powerless to this animal that is trying to kill it. “Bull riders are a different breed says” Joanne Hachten:
“They ride when they’re injured. They get taped up, splinted up, sewn up and go on. They can’t get hurt and sit around collecting a paycheck. Plus, they don’t have agents working to obtain the highest possible salary for them.”
Basically a bull rider goes out there and makes their own living on their own time and at their own risk. Right now the Pro Bull Riders Association, also known as the PBR hasn’t come up with any solutions to the dilemma of helmets, but here are a few of my suggestions. One thing is making it a requirement that the younger riders in the sport always have to wear helmets whether they are in their local town rodeo doing it for sport or actually competing. Another thing is that if a rider wants to participate in official competitions they must have on a helmet. Right now they haven’t proposed this idea at local rodeo events, because technically riders are not competing for national title and are basically just practicing to get extra cash. The third thing is providing all riders with helmets when they are participating in official competitions or even at local rodeos. Right now the price of bull riding protective helmets are very expensive, mostly this is due to the fact that there are no helmet producers that can make a helmet strong enough to withstand the blows from a 2,000 pound animal. Helmets would be a positive thing because they would lead to greater involvement in the sport with both riders and sponsors. As protection for riders increases more people may seek the thrill of getting bucked around. And with the increase in riders, sponsorship will also increase giving more companies a chance to get their name out there.