The Greeley tribune., 1908-07-01
NAME Is DEL RIO
Oldest Horse in Colorado Lives ON
Greeley Ranch
His name is Del Rio.


He is a sorrel, stockily built,
weight about $50, and wise with all
the wisdom of wise Texas COW
pony. Getting along in years? Wen,
rather. What would you make him
from the above picture? Eighteen
or twenty? Right there you've
shown your ignorance. Del Rio
checked off exactly thirty-two years
this spring.
No, that is perfectly straight.
You can prove 1t by Charley Camp
| for the horse has belonged to the
Camps for twenty-three years and
he was an eight year old when DR.,
A. l.. Camp and son, Charley, bought
him of Toddy.
Wonder how many people there
are in this town now who know
anything about Henry c. Teddy. 1t
might Just as we'll be John Smith or
Tom Jones as far as most of this
generation is concerned. but back
in the old days. H. c. Toddy was
name to conjure with. Teddy and
Lytell were drovers and stock deal
ers, and the size of the herds that
they handled stagger the imagina-
ton. Native chroniclers were lack
| ing at that time and the New York
| local colorist was yet unborn; but
there were Frenchmen-and Spaniards
were Frenchmen-and Spaniards
too-running around the southwest
who saw things and who knew how
to tell what they saw. In their al
most forgotten pages, the lives of
the old cattle dealers, the winds,
the dust, the trickery, the romance,
still live.
That was the kind of existence
that Del Rio knew until he came
north to begin life as Colorado
cowpony. All the tricks of the
trade are his and he could give
many cowpony pointers on how
they do things on the Texas range
and also on the Colorado range be-
fore the fences came. To this day
the sight of bunch Of cattle wakens
the old instincts in him and he does
his best to get back among the fool
ish wrong-headed cattle that he
knows so we'll how to handle.
He might have lived and died
cowpony-in which case he would
probably hav gone the way Of other
good bronchos long ago, had he not
fallen victim to that dread misfor-
tune, the mango. He was brought
back to the Camp home wretched
beast, his widom and gentleness OBJ
scured by mis- miserable appearance,
and his market value fell away be-
low par They still tell how Charley
Camp tried to give him to his neph-
ew and the boy refused the gift.
Then Mrs. A. L. Camp saw the possi-
bilities IN poor Del Rio and herself
doctored him until he regained his
normal appearance and was a sleek
pretty pony again. They also tell
how this same nephew then announ-
ced his willingness to accept the gift
but Mrs. Camp refused to part with
the horse.
Then it was decided to break him
to drive as we'll as ride and Del Rio
soon appeared in the role of lady's
driving horse, which role he titled
acceptably for years. Among the
other accomplishments which he pos
sessed was that of being whip-brok-
en-. Some of the benighted may not
know what "whip-broken" is. it
means that when Del Rio saw per-
son enter the corral whip in hand,
he would stand perfectly still and al
law himself to be bridled. They con-
fess, however, that of late years the
old fellow has become crochety a
bout it and If he is running with
other stock he pretends to have for
gotten what whip-broken means and
no one has the heart to call him to
strict account these days. Which
he knows perfectly we'll and takes
advantage of, accordingly
During the later years of the
elder Mrs. Camps lite she was i'll
a greater part of the time and while
she was sick she suspected that Del
Rio was having a harder time than
he had been accustomed to under
her service. 1t is certain that he
took some long night rides and he
was getting along in years then. So
Mrs. Camp gave him to her daugh-
ter, Mrs Blckllng, 1920 Tenth ave-
nue., on conaition that the latter
would never allow a man to ride him
again Mrs. Bickling has kept her
word and the orse has been hers
for years. All tne children nave
learned to ride on him, which will
spoil tne average saddier for them
in the days to come. or Del Rio
possesses gait so easy and SO meas
ured that it is like being in a cradle
rather than saddle.
At present. he is out at pasture.
Too much alfalfa and too little ex-
ercise had got him rather out of
condition, but there is nothing ser
ious the matter with him and there
is every prospect of his adding many
more years to his present thirty-two.
Even should he not, it is possible
that right now he might die on his
record as the oldest horse in Colo
| RADIO.