Bull riding is called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." The goal is to pit a bucking, raging bull weighing more than 2,000 pounds against a cowboy perched on his back.

Professional Bull Riders, Inc., an organization that works to promote the sport, states that the first rule is just to stay alive. In order to qualify and receive a score, the cowboy must ride for eight seconds without losing his grip on a rope around the bull and without having his free arm touch the ground, the bull or himself.

Bull riding is considered to be the most dangerous of any organized sport, and rodeo athletes get injured and die at a rate higher than any other professional sport. Concussions account for 11 percent of the injuries, and a combination of neck, face and head represent 30 percent of the injuries.

Studies have demonstrated that replacing the traditional cowboy hat with a protective helmet reduces the risk of significant injury to the face and head. But established competitors have been reluctant to use a helmet because it can impede their ability to compete.

If not designed specifically for bull riding, the helmets can interfere with head and neck rotation and visibility. Detractors also not that while helmets afford greater protection, they may still not be adequately designed to withstand the forces from a bull kick.

Kanin Asay, the first and only cowboy to have won the Xtreme Bulls Tour championship two times, can report firsthand the physical and emotional trauma that results from a bull-related injury to the face and head.

Asay was knocked unconscious by a bull and lost two months of competition recovering from a life-threatening fall during the St. Paul, Oregon, Fourth of July Rodeo in 2008. Among the injuries he suffered were a fracture to his face, skull fractures and brain bleeds. He spent the next days in an induced coma.

Asay still competes, but he is now a firm advocate for protective head gear while riding. While many cowboys commend him as a role model for the sport, Asay told ESPN that not everyone accepts his push for safety in the sport.

"There's still comments by some of the older gentlemen about the helmets. You know, you're not a cowboy if you wear a helmet or anything," he said. "Well then, you can go through the injury that I went through or pay the doctor bills I had to pay from it."

The sport of bull riding has gained popularity worldwide. A study of injuries related to bull riding among Australian cowboys found that 10 percent of injuries directly impacted the brain. In Australia, a helmet is mandatory for any cowboy under the age of 18.

In the United States, the National High School Rodeo Association requires all competitors in bull-riding events wear a helmet. However, the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association does not require bull riders to wear helmets. The hope is that as more young athletes are accustomed to wearing a helmet during their high school and amateur rodeo competitions, they are more likely to retain the habit and have a safer professional career.

Neil Reid, a journalist who has worked extensively in the rodeo world as a reporter and competitor had the opportunity to interview Dr. Tandy Freeman of the Justin Sportsmedicine Team.

"What they protect against – if they’re the right kind of helmet – are skull fractures and major injuries to the brain that occur with the kind of forces that can create skull fractures. With the right kind of facemask on them, they can also reduce the numbers of facial fractures we have to deal with," Freeman said.

"As some of the technology improves, the better technology becomes more reasonably priced for these guys and we're able to educate them more, maybe we'll see a shift more and more toward the better stuff."

Better protection means better brains. Better brains translate into longer careers. It seems bull riders need to cowboy up here.