Born Barbara Inez Barnes in 1902 in Cody, Nebraska, she was the youngest of 24 children. Lucas was riding calves when she was only eight and entered her first rodeo at the age of 16. In 1923, she joined Frank Hafley’s Wild West Show as a trick rider. In 1924, she rode Brahman steers at Madison Square Garden. She was inducted to the Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1968 and was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1978. Lucas died in 1990 at the age 87.