Best known for his act featuring a dog-riding monkey named Whiplash, Tommy Lucia originally competed in bull riding and bareback riding, then realized he could make people laugh and became a rodeo clown. Tommy and Whiplash performed not only at rodeos, but also during NBA playoffs and Major League baseball games. They were named PRCA Act of the Year three times and Texas Circuit Act of the Year three times. Tommy was inducted into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Rodeo Hall of Fame (2015) and the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame (2011). He was named PRCA Entertainer of the Year in 2003, 2004, and 2005.
