Anyone who has ever watched rodeo knows the connection between the athlete and animal is passionate, unique to any other sport. Both the athletes and animals have to handle their own competitive natures, which often conflict with each other.

One of the worst injuries that bull riders face cut short the life of one of the best in the sport -- Lane Frost. He died July 30, 1989, after being gored by a bull while riding in the arena at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. This year marks the 25th anniversary of his death, a tragedy to rodeo immortalized in the movie "8 Seconds."

Frost's death and legacy forever changed the sport of rodeo. Riders now opt in to wear protective head gear and safety vests, two things Frost did not wear. By law, riders under 18 must wear the headgear with metal masks.

Rodeos are the most dangerous sport around, more dangerous than boxing, football and ice hockey, according to an article by the Los Angeles Times.

"Rodeo riders are today's gladiators," professional bull rider Beau Schroeder told the newspaper.

In total, rodeo injuries reach the thousands, many of them from bull riding. The alarming amount calls rodeo physicians such as the Justin Sportsmedicine Team to action by attending many rodeos to provide medical services to injured athletes.

Justin Sportsmedicine Team reports that head and face injuries lead in body injuries, just in front of knee and shoulder injuries. Between 1981 and 2005, 2,026 head and face injuries, 1,536 knee injuries and 1,476 shoulder injuries occurred at rodeo events.

Still, millions of fans pour into rodeo arenas to get a glimpse of cowboys and cowgirls work with gentle giants twice, maybe three times their size. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the largest in the world, and the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo has won largest indoor rodeo honors nine years in a row.

"This is all we live for," bull rider and longtime friend of Frost's, Tuff Hedeman, said during a rodeo not long after his friend's death. "Our heroes weren't Roger Staubach and Joe Montana. Where we grew up, cowboys were a way of life. They still are. We're not making millions, but that's not the point. If it wasn't for rodeo, I wouldn't have anything."