Champion Trick Riders
As the daughter of "Rodeo's First Lady" Tad Lucas, Mitzi sampled her first taste of show biz as an infant. And she liked it. Tad was a champion saddle bronc rider. Mother and daughter were daring trick-riding partners for two decades. Mitzi continued to rodeo for a few years after she and Lanham Riley married. He was a calf roper and competed at many of the same rodeos as his wife and mother-in-law. The couple traveled the rodeo circuit with their children until Mitzi retired in 1954.
After high school, Mitzi majored in art so she could sharpen her costume design skills. She spent her freshman year at Tarleton State University and then came back home to Fort Worth for her sophomore year at TCU. Lanham Riley was involved in TCU’s Ranch Management program for many years. They wer both inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2002.