Fallon Taylor, Collinsville, Texas.

Riding résumé: Taylor stole the spotlight when she qualified for her first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 1995 at 13 years old. The barrel racer finished third in the standings that year and went on to qualify consecutive years through 1998. She returned to the WNFR in 2014, captivating fans and winning the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association barrel racing world championship, and she qualified again in 2015. She now competes on the Elite Rodeo Athletes circuit. Why she rides safe: In 2009, a riding accident left Taylor with a fractured C-2 vertebrae, followed by a lengthy recovery. Concern about another head injury led her to try a helmet, and she liked it.

“I found comfort in riding in a helmet, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t done it sooner,” she shares. “At the 2014 WNFR, I decided to wear a helmet in the third round. I wanted to use my status to raise helmet awareness. That same year I won a world championship, so my platform had an even larger audience.”

Taylor has made it her mission to help other riders, young and old, feel comfortable and even proud to wear helmets. Best helmet advice: “Don’t let the helmet keep you from being you,” Taylor shares. “Yes, a helmet can feel bulky at first. But use it to express your style. Pick one in your favorite color or with a funky design. Or go conservative if that’s your personality. There are no rules about how you should or shouldn’t look in a helmet.”

Taylor also says wearing a helmet doesn’t mean you have to forego your Western style. “I wear a cowboy hat outside the arena—anyone who knows me knows I won’t give up my glam cowboy hats. But when it’s time to go to work, I put on my ‘thinking cap.’” ‘Hater beacon’: “Wearing a helmet can bring out people who want to find something to pick on,” Taylor shares. “But I don’t dignify that negativity with a response. I just pray that the person making the comments doesn’t end up in an accident with injuries that could’ve been prevented by a helmet.”