Kanin Asay, 26, Powell, Wyo., trades his cowboy hat for a helmet before he gets on a bull.

Ricky Bolin, 47-year-old general manager of Hatco, which makes Resistol and Stetson hats, has been thinking about helmets for years. Too many people were getting hurt in competitions, he said.

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,” said Koon ...

J.B. Mauney, the PBR's 2006 rookie of the year is one of the best known riders to opt for a protective helmet instead of a cowboy hat. More than half of the bull riders in the PRCA and the PBR ...

Rodeo athletes are injured or die at higher rates than athletes from any other sport. The bull riding injury rate is over 10 ...

Of the more than 160 honorees, only three have worn both the cowboy hat and Cowboy helmet. There are some Dallas Cowboys players in the team’s history who are hall of famers of a different sort.