bull riding and helmets?

Question

ok who thinks that bull riders should be required to wear helmets!! its a big topic right now with the pbr and i wanna see wat you guys think but not only bull riding wat do you think about helmets in all roughstock events

im going to tell yall wat i think about them!! i ride broncs and getting into bulls but i aint ever going to put no damn helmet on!!! as jw hart said if they require it ill quit and justin mcbride says its like john wayne wearing a baseball hat it just dont look right

g g ya little yellow jacket was an amazing bull but hes got 7 up and coming sons that i know of so be prepared to see some really amzing bulls especially if they get some cross breeding going with a crossfire hurricane x little yellow jacket those are two really amzing bulls that with there lines could produce a monster of a bull if not the greatest to ever come out of a bucking chute

keep in mind those bulls weigh 1800 to 2500 pounds if they come down on your head your going to be hurt real bad regardless of helmet or not because that much weight will crush that helmet!!!

my main argument isnt that it looks dumb it just aint going to help you none if you get kick in the face shield they explode putting those bars into your face without the helmet you get a simple cut acrosed your face and possibly a concussion

Answer 1

i dont think pbr should make it a rule. one, bull riders know the dangers of the sport, if they werent aware of it and didnt want to take the risk, they would be doing it. Look at Tuff Hedemen, had his face completely smashed in, had to have complete reconstructive surgery, has that changed his views on bull riding..no...
i think if a man wants to wear a helment, more power to him, he is just protecting himself, but dont force them to do it.

Answer 2

I don't think PBR will ever pass that rule. I think they would lose to many riders, because the riders don't want anyone telling them what they need to do. I agree that minors should wear a helmet. I once thought about being a bull rider, never made it to the high powered bulls, and I would never have worn a helmet because it impeded my vision. If you can't see the bull coming then how do you know which way to run? My son is now starting in mutton bustin, he's 4, and I make damn sure he has a helmet on. My brother who is 8 wears a helmet, I'm sure if he continues after 18 he will not, and I'm fine with that. I figure it's the riders choice. Look at what Bodacious did to all those guys, a helmet didn't help them!!!!

Answer 3

If you're an adult and are fully aware of the risks you are taking, then I think it should be your decision.

However, if your argument is that you don't want to wear one because it looks dumb, that's about the weakest, most petty argument imaginable. I'm sure some people involved with motocross and NASCAR think the helmets and other protective gear look stupid, too, but do you see them going without it? And what's that about John Wayne wearing a baseball hat? That analogy doesn't even make a bit of sense to me. I'm sorry if you feel that wearing a helmet makes you appear weaker or look like a sissy, but personally I'd rather take the extra step to help prevent a concussion/brain damage instead of increasing my chances of having to spend time in the hospital when I could be at a rodeo.
Although I do agree that when you're dealing with something that big and dangerous, there's a good chance that no amount of protective gear will prevent you from getting injured. But that doesn't mean that there's not still plenty of situations in bull riding where a helmet could prevent unnecessary injury.

Answer 4

My personal opinion is that every rider is WELL aware of the dangers of riding, bullriding, bronco events, etc w/out wearing a helmet and the consequences of such an action. Myself, tho not a bullrider by any means, still rides to this day on my own horse without a helmet. I have fallen off several times and each time I do, I always say that I will start wearing one cause all it takes is a fall that you don't have time to "prepare" for and then you end up like Christopher Reeves or worse. But I never have used a helmet. So my opinion on the matter is that each rider should do and or wear whatever they want. It's their decision on whether they think that having a 1800 lb animal's hoof come down on their skull will do damage or not and if they can be quick enough to get out of the way.

Answer 5

It should be a personal choice, just as getting up there in the first place is. The helmet should be allowed, so should any other safety equipment so those who choose, may use. Now how about somebody coming up with a helmet that actually does the job well so no face guards shatter and they can withstand being stepped on?? And kryptonite suits so the rider can still look like a dude but not get crushed or gored? For those that choose them, of course.

Answer 6

I never rode bulls - but in my youth, I used to do 3-day events. The cross-country course - miles at a full gallop - taking jumps made from telephone poles, stone (real stone) walls and whiskey barrels - is a killer - literally.

I have had broken bones, I'm missing teeth and once spent weeks in traction - Horse fell on a jump - and we went tumbling. I was taken to the hospital in a heap - the horse was humanely destroyed.

That was 40-odd years ago before body armor, teeth guards and helmet straps that don't break.

Yeah. I think bull riding falls into that kind of sport. I like helmets and body armor and teeth guards. It's not un-manly to want to continue walking.

My eventing days are over now - and I can still ride - but I stick to quiet trail rides.

Answer 7

My gut reaction is, whatever an adult chooses to do with their head is their own business.

Minors...I'm definitely pro-helmets for them as they may not have the thought processes to weigh risked consequences vs. peer pressure or even the maturity to make an EDUCATED decision about it for themselves and they tend to think "it can't happen to me" anyway.

This is going to be just like the seatbelt issue when they first started legislating it. You hardly hear anything about it now because the kids today have grown up using them and now it's the norm. If they require it for minors, in a few years it will be the exception who puts aside the helmet once they're of age.

I'm 43 and using a helmet for the first time this year. I always used to say I was making an educated but illogical choice for the "freedom" of riding without one. Until a friend got hurt this year and will likely not ride much this fall. I'm not willing to give up a season if I don't have to.

And I started thinking that being brain-damaged, drooling, unable to speak and move while sitting in my own excrement didn't sound much like "freedom" to me.

Answer 8

i know some wear face shields, but i think it should be a personal preference. bull and bronc riding is a dangerous sport, you guys know the risks. if you know the risks and still don't want to wear a helmet then you shouldn't have to. the pbr is the only sport i watch, but i always root for the bulls. i miss little yellow jacket

awesome! i will be on the look out for his off spring. thanks for the info.

Answer 9

It should be a personal preference. I don't remember his name offhand, but the last cowboy who tried to ride Bodacious was wearing protective face gear, and look what good it did him: busted eye sockets. Of course, he was on Bodacious, and we all remember what that bull did to Tuff Hedeman...
Personally, I think helmets should be used by people learning to ride, not people who are professionals in the field. Sure, crap happens, but that's how you learn not to do whatever you were doing wrong.
That's just what I think.

cnsdubie, where are you from? We had something like that happen in our area not too many years ago.

Answer 10

I think people under 18 should be required to wear helmets, every time a kid gets hurt in a rodeo it seems to be big press.
Over 18 its your call myself I wouldnt be caught dead in one of those sissy get ups.
People saying PBR should make it a rule kiss my a$$. Last time I checked I am responsable for the choices I make. I dont need your candy ***, bleeding heart protecting me from myself.

Mule why do we do it? because its fun, its about the the ultimate adrenaline rush......Quote Garth Brooks, "its the white in the knuckles and the gold in the buckles"