The cowboy way

This chapter will explore the lifestyle sport of rodeo with specific attention to the health and safety policies of Professional Bull Riders Inc. (PBR), the international governing body of bull riding in the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Australia. The chapter will focus on the issue of safety policy and the measures to police and protect the modern day bull rider. The self-identified extreme sport has high levels of injury as well as sport-related deaths : it is reported that one out of 12 rides results in a serious accident. The current body of literature illustrates the clear and present dangers that exist in this extreme sport. The chapter will look at the evolution of safety policy in both the amateur and elite levels of bull riding, including but not limited to the introduction of the riding vest, a kevlar vest to prevent the horn of the bull from goring the rider which was introduced after the in-arena death of Lane Frost in 1989. Recently the sport has looked into the use of helmets as an additional measure of a protection as research grows on their effectiveness. Along with promotion of safety devices for the athletes the PBR in 1999 established a foundation (the Resistol Relief Fund, later the Rider Relief Fund) to raise money to offset the living and medical expenses of athletes who become injured as a result for their participation in the sport of bull riding. The work of the foundation is essential as the bull riders are independently contracted talent; when not competing very little income is generated. The high risk of injury also makes securing any form of medical insurance difficult and if it can be secured the monthly premium fees render it virtually impossible to afford. The sport also increasingly participates in medical research, specifically in the area of concussion research. In 2005 the PBR started a longitudinal study to measure and monitor the relationship of the sport and concussion management. The chapter explores how this type of research effects/affects the policy development within the PBR and PBR sanctioned events. The research-led policy development signifies a shift in safety policy, from the previous exhortation of ‘cowboy up’ to the development and promotion of safety equipment to mitigate injury, as well as structural programmes to assist in the management of athletes’ welfare.

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.