A near capacity crowd cheered on the rodeo contestants at the first performance of the Cody Stampede Rodeo on Tuesday, July 1 ...

He'll occasionally see a bronc rider wear one, but it's mostly bull riders, he said. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's 2006 world bull-riding champion, B.J. Schumacher, wears a helmet.

One leg in the chute, one out, Scooter Engelhaupt, the 42-year-old bull rider wearing the pink, flowery shirt, waits for his turn to bound the 2,000-pound behemoth.