The difference

[S.A. Boggs]

54596
Sam

[Oyaji]

Yeah well here's one tough bull rider that now wears a helmet and wisely so, I'd say......

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article-chase-outlaw-broke-almost-every-bone-in-his-face-doctors-put-it-back/

[Vern Humphrey]

Nowadays it's not uncommon to see them wear soft body armor.

[PWC]

RFD channel has rodeo on most every evening. All the bull riders wear helmets an soft armor...smart guys. They get stomped on regularly. Bareback and saddle bronc riders mostly wear cowboy hats and soft armor...smart guys. The ones that wear helmets are smart too, May have had occasion to wish they had before.

[Allen]

Maybe the solution is for riders to wear a hat like Oddjob from one of the old James Bond movies.

Steel rimmed or steel lined?

There was an episode or two from the Beverly Hillbillies where Jeffro wanted to be a "Double Naught" spy and had a felt covered steel hat made like this. He knocked himself out every time he put it on though.

[Phloating Phlasher]

Do what a lot of the oilmen in Oklahoma do, get a certified safety "hard hat" in a cowboy design. You can even get it hand-painted , chromed or both.