Barbara Inez ‘Tad’ Barnes Lucas, Rodeo Champion 1902 – 1990

Tad Lucas Passport Photo[3]

Barbara Inez ‘Tad’ Barnes Lucas, best known as Tad Lucas, is not just a family hero, she is an all American hero with world wide acclaim as a rodeo champion and trick rider[1]. Tad was born on 1 September 1902 in Cody Nebraska, the 24th child of Lorenzo Dow ‘White’ ‘Dan’ Barnes, a true Nebraska pioneer and his second wife Hannah Gartside. Tad is the great aunt of Sgt Theodore Eyl, and PFC Herbert Normal Eyl; both family heroes noted on these pages. By at least one account[2], Tad got her nickname because of her small stature, but according to a children’s book [9] “She didn’t crawl like most babies; she slithered. Her dad thought she looked like a tadpole. The name stuck”. This second account sounds more genuine .

Growing up on a farming/ranching homestead in the Sandhills of north central Nebraska, Tad was naturally drawn to riding from a very early age. She made her first appearance in the rodeo at the 1917 Gordon Nebraska Fair and became a professional cowgirl in 1922. She toured the United States and Mexico with Frank Hafley’s Wild West Show[4] gaining much acclaim for bronc riding and other horsemanship skills. She and her soon to be husband, James Edward (Buck) Lucas were selected to participate in an international rodeo at Wembley Stadium in London, England in June 1924. They married in New York before their ship sailed for London and spent their honeymoon on the cruise over the Atlantic.

Tad Lucas YouTube Video. One of may stories of her life on the Internet.
Photo from the Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, Ft. Worth, TX 2021: “Circa 1929 — 1932 After Performing with Wild West shows, Tad Lucas began competing and performing at rodeos, riding relays and pony express races, saddle broncs, and doing some trick riding in the 1920s, trick riding was a contest event and Lucas won the event at Cheyenne Wyoming Frontier Days eight consecutive times. She rode her last bucking horse in 1964 at the age of 62”.[8]

Tad’s life and accomplishments have been documented in numerous places. A simple Internet search will bring up volumes of information on her so her life will not be further expounded upon here, rather only some of her major accomplishments will be briefly listed below. Suffice it to say she is know as “The Woman Who Changed Rodeo Forever”[2].

  • 1917: At the age of 14 she took first place in the steer riding contest.[1]
  • During World War 1 she rode bulls in the main street of Cody to raise money for the Red Cross.[2]
  • From the mid-1920s through 1942 she won virtually every major prize offered to women in rodeo, competing in bronc riding, trick riding, and relay racing.[1]
  • 1930: She won permanent possession of the Metro Goldwyn Mayer Trophy for three successive victories at the All-Around Champion Cowgirl At the Madison Square Garden rodeo.[5]
  • 1933: She won champion all-around cowgirl at the Chicago World’s Fair.[2]
  • 1948: She became a key member of the newly formed Girl’s Rodeo Association.[2]
  • 1968: Inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. She was inducted 34 years ahead of her husband Buck.[5]
  • 1978: Inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.[5]
  • 1997: Inducted into the Texas Trail of Fame. Her daughter, Mitzi Lucas Riley was inducted in 2005.[5]
  • 1990: Upon her death, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum created the Tad Lucas Award to commemorate the great cowgirl known as “Rodeo’s First Lady”[6].
  • 2002: Inducted into the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame.[5]
  • 2007: Inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame.[7]
Tad Lucas on Juarez circa 1922 – 1934. Photographer: Ralph Russel Doubleday. Title: One of rodeo’s famed cowgirls, Tad Lucas on bucking horse. Negative Number: 200050

“She is the only person honored by all three rodeo halls of fame: The National Rodeo Hall of Fame, Oklahomo City, OK in 1967 (she was the first woman elected), the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, Fort Worth, TX in 1978, and the Prorodeo Hall of Fame, Colorado Springs, CO in 1979. She is considered the greatest rodeo cowgirl of all time and was the most successful, most popular, and most famous woman in rodeo history.”[1]

Tad Lucas Grave Marker (family photo)

Tad pioneered the way for women in rodeo and championed this cause until her passing in 1990; a great woman and an well established American hero.

Visit Tad’s individual record.

Credits

  1. Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas, “Lucas, Barbara Inez Barns [Tad], Published March 1, 1995, Updated November 11, 2020, last accessed September 23, 2021 https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/lucas-barbara-inez-barnes-tad
  2. Wide Open Country, “Tad Lucas: The Woman Who Changed Rodeo Forever”, Last Accessed September 23, 2021, https://www.wideopencountry.com/tad-lucas/
  3. Martfeld-Eyl, Bell and Hensley Family Roots, “Barbara Inez ‘Tad’ Barnes”, last accessed 23 September 2021, https://family-roots.net/tng/showmedia.php?mediaID=243&medialinkID=243
  4. Texas Monthly, “The Cowgirl Way”, Lonn Taylor, September 2015, last accessed 23 September 2012, https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/the-cowgirl-way/
  5. Wikipedia, “Tad Lucas”, last accessed 23 September, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tad_Lucas.
  6. Bucking Stock Talk Magazine, “Tad Lucas — She’s A Legendary Bronc Rider”, Terry Lidral, September 4, 2019, last accessed 24 September 2021, https://buckingstocktalk.com/tad-lucas-shes-a-legendary-bronc-rider/
  7. Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, “Tad Lucas – 2007”, November 20, 2006. last accessed 24 September 2021, https://www.tchof.com/post/tad-lucas
  8. National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame Collection, Photo by J.L. Martfeld June 2021, Website: http://www.cowgirl.net
  9. Laura B. Edge. (2017). Tad Lucas, Trip Riding Rodeo Cowgirl. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.
Let us never forget.