Mitzi Ann Lucas Riley passed away on August 29, 2023 in Fort Worth. Her interesting obituary told of her long career as a trick rider and rodeo performer. Mitzi had a remarkable rodeo heritage. She was born January 10, 1928 and was the daughter of rodeo cowboy James Edward “Buck” Lucas (1894 – 1960) and Barbara Inez “Tad” Barnes (1902 – 1990). Buck and Tad were well known in rodeo circles and were quite successful during the years that they were active.
Buck was from Nebraska and was a long time contestant in rodeos all over the country. He was the fourth of five children of William and Esther Cook Lucas. His father had come to the west from Illinois. In addition to working as a rodeo contestant as a young man, Buck also did some work as a stunt man in films. In rodeos his main event was steer wrestling but he also competed in other events, including bronc riding.
After Buck had been riding in rodeos for a few years, he and Tad were married, about the time that she was beginning her career as a trick rider. They spent their honeymoon on a ship traveling to London for the wild west show of Tex Austin, after which they returned to the States and toured for a show called “101 Great Far East and West Real Wildwest Show” out of Oklahoma City. Also around that that time, Tad won second place in the Cedar Rapids trick riding contest and took first place in the contest at Cheyenne, Wyoming’s “Frontier Days” after which she continued to be successful. The couple settled in Fort Worth as they kept traveling on the rodeo circuit. They performed all over the United States and also did shows in England and Europe from time to time. Buck was known as a championship performer and did well until he chose to retire around 1940. After his retirement, he stayed close to the rodeo business as a judge and co-owner of a rodeo stock company. Buck was posthumously inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2002.
Tad was born to Lorenzo Dow and Hannah Garfield Barnes. An early biographical sketch of her said that L. D. had come to Cody, Nebraska and that he was the first white settler and first storekeeper of Cody, Nebraska. One story said that Tad was given her nickname by her father because as she was first learning to crawl as a baby, he thought she looked like a tadpole. Her nickname stuck, abbreviated to “tad” from “tadpole.” She learned to ride horses as a youngster and was good at it by the time she was a teenager, leading to her entry into rodeo performing. Her events were trick riding, relay racing and even some bronc riding. She continued to compete and make appearances until 1958. For her long and successful career, she was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame (1967), the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame (1978) and the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame (1979).
Tad was a featured performer and earned the title World Champion All Around Cowgirl for eight years. She was considered to be the greatest female rider in the world in her day. On some occasions, if she was booked to perform, a rodeo might dedicate one day’s event as Tad Lucas Homecoming Day.
Over the years, Buck and Tad acquired many trophies and awards. In December, 1932, the Associated Press had a featured story about a fire at their home in Fort Worth. They happened to be at their Tarrant County residence at the time when a fire broke out, caused by a defective flue. Buck and Tad were able to escape the burning residence with daughters Dorothy and Mitzi in their nightclothes as their home burned to the ground. They had just come home from a rodeo event at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Fortunately, they had been on the road a lot and most of their trophies, patches and awards were still in the detached garage and were saved from the fire. Some were lost in the fire including Buck’s steer wrestling trophy from London in 1924 which Tad said she had planted a fern in, but most of the prized ones were saved.
Mitzi was born to the couple in 1928. Like Tad, she was destined to be physically small, weighing only 2 pounds 14 ounces at birth. There is a photo of Tad holding Mitzi in the crown of her hat as she rode around at a rodeo. Mitzi was always interested in riding and horses and as a child, she practiced with her famous mother. The family had first settled in Fort Worth’s River Oaks before they relocated to rural property in Tarrant County. In 1933, Tad was making an appearance at the Chicago World’s Fair when she was seriously injured doing a trick. She got caught up in the legs of her favorite horse and one of her arms was crushed. There was some fear that Tad might lose her arm and might never ride again. However, though it took several years to get back to her old form, she recovered. This led directly to Mitzi’s beginning to perform at six years old. Following Tad’s recovery, she and Mitzi performed together for the next twenty years.
Mitzi graduated from Arlington Heights High School and between rodeo appearances attended college at what was then known as John Tarleton Agricultural College and Texas Christian University. After graduating from high school, Mitzi was married to Lanham Riley, a calf roper whom she met at TCU. The couple had five children and they made their home in Aledo, Texas. Mitzi retired from rodeo performance as their children began to reach school age. One of their children, Kelly Riley, competed on the rodeo circuit for several years. Both Lanham and Mitzi were inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2002.
An early woman’s rodeo organization was called the Girls Rodeo Association, the GRA, formed in 1948. Mitzi was a charter member. Now known as the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association, the WPRA is the oldest women’s professional sports organization in the United States. Mitzi also served on the board of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and was a founding member of the Rodeo Historical Society, part of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Her honors include being inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum Hall of Fame and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Rodeo Hall of Fame.
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