![]() ![]() "It's heartwarming because now people are sharing their injury stories with me, and whether they're as severe as my injuries or not, it's just amazing to hear all those different stories and know that it's making a change and one person can make a change, and a revolution." "I've cried at rodeoes and barrel races, I've walked up and thought, "Oh my gosh, this is making a difference,'" she said. "Why chance it now? It's made such a revolution through the sport," she said.Īs Taylor travels the Women's Professional Rodeo Association circuit, she sees daily the impact it's having on the sport of barrel racing. I just feel like in order to be genuine to this message, I can't be hypocritical."Īlong with her quirky style, Taylor is thrilled to be known as a trendsetter, but this time in the field of safety. "When nobody's looking, I'm wearing a helmet. ![]() "I went and got seven more to complete my runs because the screw holes in my head are so uncomfortable with a hat on," she said. Because of the positive reaction from fans, fellow barrel racers and parents, Taylor wears a helmet each time she rides. Taylor's family asked her to wear a helmet after she qualified for the NFR, and she donned it for the third run of the championship rodeo last December. ![]() "I got four skull fractures and broke all the bones on the right side of my face. It was the same injury that paralyzed and eventually claimed the life of actor Christopher Reeve, a break in the C2 vertebrae. Not even when she broke her neck in a barrel racing accident during a practice run at her home in Whitesboro, Texas, in 2009. Wearing a helmet didn't cross Taylor's mind until last year. I'll be wearing one for the remainder of my career." "When I put it on I was like, ?I'm just stupid for not doing this before,'" she said. It's a trend, much like her tie-died jeans and flowing hair, that Taylor is seeing become more popular. Often seen as a stigma previously, more and more riders ? especially youth riders ? are following in her footsteps. EAST BREMERTON ? Barrel racing fans know Fallon Taylor from winning the National Finals Rodeo last year as well as her fun and flamboyant fashion style.īut since the NFR in Las Vegas, Taylor has become an unofficial spokesperson and advocate for wearing a riding helmet. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |