It ain't no Stetson, but rodeo helmet gains ground

FORT WORTH, Texas — Nearly eight seconds into the ride at a rodeo this month, a wildly bucking, 1,400-pound bull named Bruiser thrust a horn toward Justin Koon's face and tossed him into the air. He hit the ground head first — but walked away with only minor cuts.

Almost a decade ago, a similar spill left Koon with a fractured skull and in a coma. After that, he traded his cowboy hat for a protective helmet.

"I would never put one on because I wanted to look like a cowboy, with my boots, long-sleeved shirt and cowboy hat," Koon, now 24, said at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. "Now I don't think I'd get on without one."

Rodeo, a sport in which the cowboy hat is as much an icon as a bucking bronco, has been reluctant to require its riders to wear helmets. Even for children as young as 5, they remain optional under association rules.

But bull riders, including some of the sport's stars, are increasingly donning their own. Rodeo officials estimate just under 40 percent of adult riders now wear helmets, up from 10 percent five years ago.

Doctors and researchers say it's not enough. Studies show helmets can prevent catastrophic injuries that can end careers in a sport that paid its top bull riders up to $1.8 million last year.

Some medical experts are pushing the sport to encourage adult bull and steer riders to wear helmets, and require them for riders under 18.

"I'm surprised that they haven't gone that route," said Dr. Mark A. Brandenburg, vice chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma in Tulsa.

Among the best-known riders to don the helmets are B.J. Schumacher, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's 2006 world bull-riding champion, and J.B. Mauney, the Professional Bull Riders' 2006 rookie of the year.

Still, more than half of bull riders have resisted. And they say it isn't about preserving the tough image of the Stetson-wearing cowboy.

Some riders complain the helmets are heavy, block their vision or prevent only superficial injuries. A few fear helmets might even boost injury risks by giving riders a false sense of security.

"I'm sure it could save on some dental bills, but I don't think it would feel right," said Luke Haught, 23, of Weatherford, Texas, who won a recent PRCA bull-riding event in Fort Worth. "I like my hat."