Rodeo Research Blog

Clay Gross

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Rodeo Research Blog

            The sport of rodeo doesn’t require or contain proper protective gear for the contestants to use at work every week.  With today’s modern technology rodeo’s protective gear seems very outdated.  Rodeo is considered the most dangerous sport and yet competitors wear the least amount of protective gear.  Some contestants feel that wearing a helmet goes against the traditional cowboy image or it damages their vision and flexibility.  The vests that bull riders are required to wear in only some states are merely padded Styrofoam coated with a leather barrier.  That means that bull riders are relying on a half inch thick leather/Styrofoam vest to protect themselves from bulls weighing 1800 lbs.  It is obvious that some changes need to be made in order to keep the rodeo contestants safe from the most dangerous sport in the world.

            Rodeo is by far the most dangerous professional sport in present America and yet it has the least amount of protective gear.  Football is a much less physical sport and yet football helmets and shoulder pads are a required at any age. “Rodeo athletes get injured or die at a higher rate than athletes in any sport.”( Paula Lavigne, pg 1)  It’s not as if the contestants are uneducated about their safety when participating in the sport, they understand that each event could mean death.  Why then, should we allow the safety requirements to be of such a smaller magnitude for rodeo. "I've had some really good friends die in this sport, but I didn't have to lose friends to understand this sport and how dangerous it is," said Cody Lambert, a former bull-riding and saddle bronc champion. "Just because you have a helmet or vest or a pair of chaps, you can still die out there." (Angela K. Brown, pg 1)  That attitude should not have to be a part of the sport.

            Rodeo has always held a certain culture in many ways like football.  The image of a bull rider doesn’t contain a helmet or the attitude of a precautionary person.  Cowboys are taught to shake injuries off and that its just a part of the sport.  But what if that could all be changed with a new set of safety rules, that no longer made injuries such a part of the sport?  Tradition has always held a strong moral in rodeo and probably always will.  What the PRCA  could do to change the tradition is start with the new generation of athletes and teach them about the safety of rodeo.

            The technology of the vests worn by the bronc and bull riders is progressing, but still has a long road. “From 1989 to 2009, 16 bull or steer riders died from thoracic compression injuries -- blows to the chest. Of those, nearly all were wearing protective vests.  None of the five rodeo contestants who died of head injuries -- including two bull riders -- were wearing helmets.”( Paula Lavigne, pg 1)  "I think it says vests could stand further investigation and need to be improved," said Dale Butterwick.  This statistic shows that the vests are not doing there job and need to be investigated in order to find a better solution for protection.  The thought of a half inch leather/Styrofoam vest protecting the rider from over 1800 lbs of fury sounds like a joke. 

            Rodeo is much to physical of a sport for the protection of the riders to be taken lightly.  Someone needs to take charge and make it a rule that helmets must be required as well as the investigation of vests.  Rodeo is moving towards a better path of safety, but it isn’t even close to complete. “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.”(Angela K. Brown, pg 1)  Let rodeo become a sport where it can be enjoyed without the possibility of death or serious injury every time the rider gets on.