This is just silly - I needed a little silliness today.

Outback cowboys must wear helmets

The headline is a little misleading, but then again, what good headline isn't?

Most importantly, common sense will eventually rule the day.

Ex-cowboy Hayden Bostock said it might be difficult to persuade riders to wear helmets, no matter how safe they might be.

"The stockman's hat is an icon of Australia," he said. "You can't replace it with an ice-cream container on the head.

"Being a bushman myself, we're not going to wear anything that doesn't look any good."