Fox Hastings

Fox Hastings was one of the first and only female bulldoggers in rodeo history. Her fastest time was 17 seconds, a record she set in 1924.

Born Eloise Fox, she ran away from her California home at the age of 14 to begin her career riding bucking horses and trick riding. Joining Irwin Brother's Wild West Show she rode on one of the fastest running trick riding horses performing at that time.

(Mike Hastings was married to Eloise Fox Hastings, who ran away from convent school at 16 to join a Wild West show. After she met up with Hastings, he taught her to ride and rodeo, and in 1924 she became the first woman steer wrestler. Later they were divorced. )

After marrying fellow rodeo star Mike Hastings, Eloise Fox dropped her first name, becoming Fox Hastings. She made her bulldogging debut at a 1924 rodeo in Houston, receiving help and encouragement from her husband, himself a highly successful bulldogger.

"To the rodeo crowd she is Fox Hastings, cowgirl extraordinary. To neighbors, she is Mrs. Mike Hastings, a good cook and tidy housekeeper.

Her career was marked by injuries and spectacular performances, as this account illustrates: "Notable among the special attractions was Fox Hastings who, though she had suffered a broken rib the day before the show opened, bulldogged her steer each of the three days of the rodeo proper. She had a contract to fulfill and she couldn't let the management down..."

Sadly, in 1948, Fox Hastings took her life in a Phoenix, Arizona hotel. But she is still remembered today as one of the pioneer ladies of the rodeo.

Tad Lucas

LUCAS, BARBARA INEZ BARNES (1902-1990). Barbara Inez (Tad) Lucas, rodeo champion, was born on September 1, 1902, at Cody, Nebraska, one of twenty-four children of Lorenzo White Barnes. Her mother, Hannah Garthside Barnes, was Lorenzo's second wife. Tad could not remember the time before she started riding. She was helping her brothers break colts by age seven and often rode calves for amusement. She participated in horseback races and contests against other ranch children and local Sioux Indians. She made her professional debut at the Gordon, Nebraska, Fair in 1917 and moved to Texas soon after. She became a full-time professional cowgirl in 1922. In 1923 she toured the United States and Mexico with a Wild West show and took second in bronc riding at the Madison Square Garden Rodeo. She and cowboy James Edward (Buck) Lucas were among the stars selected to compete at a major international rodeo at Wembley Stadium in London, England, in June 1924. They were married on May 23, while in New York City awaiting departure. Their honeymoon was the voyage to London aboard the Menomee. At Wembley, Tad made her debut in trick riding, the contest that eventually earned her greatest fame.

On returning from England Tad and Buck began construction of the Fort Worth home in which Tad lived until her death. The couple had two daughters. Mitzi, the younger, began riding with Tad in grand entries when less than a year old and performed with her mother for many years thereafter. With another rodeo couple, the Lucases purchased the Triangle Rodeo Company. From the mid-1920s through 1942 Tad won virtually every major prize offered to women in rodeo, competing in bronc riding, trick riding, and relay racing. Among her greatest honors was winning three times in succession and retiring the $10,000 MGM Trophy awarded to the champion all-around cowgirl at Madison Square Garden, where she also won the title for trick riding five times. She captured major prizes at the Cheyenne Frontier Days, where she won six trick-riding titles, several relay racing awards, and the bronc riding event. She was also victorious at prestigious rodeosqv in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Fort Worth, and Sidney, Australia.

When women's contests were dropped from the major rodeo circuit during World War II,qv Tad Lucas remained active as performer and official. She was one of the charter members of the Girls Rodeo Association in 1948 (now the Women's Professional Rodeo Association). Her prestige gave added credibility to that fledging organization, which she supported as officer, rodeo official, contestant, performer, and clown from its formation through her retirement in 1958. Tad Lucas was a member of the Episcopal church. She was one of the founders of the Rodeo Historical Society in 1966 and served as its president from 1970 to 1974. She was elected to the board of directors for another ten years; she became an honorary board member in 1984. She is the only person honored by all three rodeo halls of fame: the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1967 (she was the first woman elected), the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1978, and the Prorodeo Hall of Fame 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. She died on February 23, 1990, in Fort Worth. In her will she established the Tad Lucas Memorial Award to honor women who excel in any field related to Western heritage.

For a decade, Tad was known as the world's best female rodeo performer. In her career, she collected all of the major trophies and titles available to rodeo cowgirls, though she achieved her greatest fame as a fearless and innovative trick rider. Tad, the youngest of 24 children, made her professional debut in 1917. She moved to Fort Worth soon after and began touring with Wild West shows. She first competed in trick riding in England.