Patent ID: 7434268

Claim:
A protective headgear for a rider of rodeo rough stock riding competition, the headgear comprising: a helmet, said helmet comprising a shell configured for fitting closely about the top, back, and sides of the head, said helmet shell including a frontal face opening defined by an upper brow edge, a left coverage area having a left forward edge and a right coverage area having a right forward edge; a chin strap attached to said headgear adjacent a portion of said frontal face opening; a face guard for attaching across said frontal face opening of said helmet shell, said face guard, when disposed across said frontal face opening comprising: a center vertical bar bisecting said frontal face opening and having a first end and a second end, said first end located adjacent said upper brow edge and protruding out and away from the brow edge and said second end extending to a position below said chin strap and angled back toward the helmet; a plurality of spaced apart horizontal bars having a spacing of no more than about one inch therebetween attached along the length of said vertical bar between said first and second ends of said vertical bar so as to overlay substantially all of said frontal face opening; a top horizontal bar having a first end and a second end and disposed adjacent the upper brow edge of the helmet, the first end of the top horizontal bar adjacent the left forward edge of the helmet and the second end of the top horizontal bar adjacent the right forward edge of the helmet, said top horizontal bar attached to the first end of said vertical bar; wherein said face guard is attached to said helmet by a face guard release mechanism comprising at least two stabilizer brackets and plurality of automatically releasable fasteners capable of releasing upon application of a release force so that said face guard is detachable upon a force being applied to said face guard, a first stabilizer bracket attached to said helmet adjacent the first end of the top horizontal bar and a second stabilizer bracket attached so said helmet adjacent the second end of the top horizontal bar, each of said brackets having a downward facing opening, each of said ends of said top horizontal bar seated in the downward facing opening of said respective stabilizer bracket, thereby preventing upward movement of the faceguard relative to the helmet.