Helmets smart way to go for riders, no bull

Fans attending the Professional Championship Bullriders Tour World Finale this weekend in Hoffman Estates won't see as many 10-gallon hats.

Instead, nearly a third of the 35 riders are donning a whole other type of headwear that's more about safety than cowboy cool.

Yes, they still get into a ring with those angry, fear-inspiring beasts, but, increasingly, these macho men are wearing helmets when they do.

Among them is professional rider Matt Pojanowski.

He's defending his championship crown this weekend at the Sears Centre in an event that also features a pyrotechnic show and country music. The riders are competing for a new Toyota Tundra truck.

"These are the top 35 guys in the world," said event coordinator Robert Sauber, a St. Charles resident.

But the main attractions could be some of the highest-jumping and hardest-kicking bulls out there, as voted by the riders.

For them, though, the thrill of riding those fierce animals for more than eight seconds also comes with a real risk of injury.

Pojanowski has taken his scrapes, but none worse than the accident about four months ago that prompted him to wear a helmet.

That's when he fell off his bull and his head hit the ground. He suffered a concussion and broken bones in his eye socket and skull.

"I split my eye open pretty good," he said. "I was probably out for a good 10 to 15 minutes."

Against a doctor's recommendation of a month's rest, Pojanowski took only one weekend off and was back riding within two weeks.

"Sometimes, I still miss my hat," he admitted.

Sauber said a good helmet costs $300 to $400. Some riders complain the helmets -- they're padded, made with impact-resistant plastic and look like a hockey goalie's helmets -- hinder vision.

But "compared to the hospital bill that could be devastating, it's a good investment," said Sauber, who rode for 25 years and has organized shows in Kane and DeKalb counties.

At some junior levels, helmets are required. The Professional Championship Bullriders Tour doesn't mandate them, but they're gaining more acceptance as riders want to extend their careers by avoiding serious injuries.

"Just think of Christopher Reeve," said Dominique Vinh, inpatient medical director at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village.

Reeve, popular for playing the Man of Steel in the "Superman" movies, was paralyzed in a horseback-riding accident and died nine years later.

Vinh treats patients at the Rehabilitation Center of Chicago's branch at Alexian Brothers. He's seen a variety of serious head injuries. It can take more than year to fully recover from a head injury like the one a bull rider can suffer after falling, if ever.

Vinh said that though Reeve was on a horse, his accident shows the necessity for helmets on bull riders. Imagine the force of impact, Vinh said, a rider experiences after being thrown from a bull that's stronger, bucks faster and weighs more than a horse.

"I cannot stress the importance of wearing a helmet during any sport that will put you at risk to fall and hit the pavement," Vinh said.

In professional hockey, most players frowned on wearing helmets until the late 1980s because they weren't considered macho and some claimed it hindered visibility.

Pojanowski asserted that bull riders don't have such qualms about their toughness. A helmet is slowly becoming as accepted as a cowboy's boots or blue jeans.

"You get used to it. It's not looked down upon," he said. "It's just part of the sport now."

Pro bull-riding

What: Professional Championship Bullriders Tour World Finale

When: Two-day event wraps up today starting at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates

Tickets: $19-$54

Info: (888) 732-7784 or log onto searscentre.com or pcbtour.com