Valley Bull tops 1916 Denver Stock Show
Published on Jan. 11, 2020
Wyoming, a registered Hereford bull from the Davis ranch of Saratoga, was judged grand champion at the 1916 Denver Stock Show.
The bull was sired by Beau Carlos II, the famous herd bull of the Davis ranch on the Upper North Platte River between Saratoga and Riverside.
The senior yearling animal was bred and shown by ranch owner L. G. “Captain” Davis and sold in the Denver sale Jan. 20, 1916 for a then record amount of $5,000.
Also, at the prestigious event, two registered Hereford bulls bred, shown and sold by Davis, topped the pair’s sale, according to an article in The Saratoga Sun.
The bulls were also offspring of Beau Carlos II and together they brought $6,425 at auction.
Louis Grant Davis came to Saratoga in 1879 as a boy of 12 and was elected Carbon County sheriff in 1894 a position he left in 1898 to organize a cavalry troop of 200 men to serve in the Spanish American War with Teddy Roosevelt.
Many of the men were from Wyoming and furnished their own horses. For the rest of his life he was known as Captain Davis.
The Sun stated that he was one of the most effective senators of the Wyoming Senate during the 1890-91 and 1901 and 1903 sessions. He was later appointed U.S. Marshal of Wyoming by President Teddy Roosevelt, whom Davis had ridden with and entertained several times. Davis also served as warden of the state prison.
As a young man, Captain Davis had established a ranch on the Upper North Platte River between Saratoga and Encampment. Enterprising and energetic, he experimented successfully with irrigation and the raising and feeding of alfalfa as well as producing quality cattle.
When he established the valley’s first herd of over 100 registered Hereford cattle, the Laramie Boomerang said he had started a Hereford breeding revolution: “The cattle were a departure from those of the past – heavier bone, shorter legs, longer barrel, and heavier weight.” All of which contributed to greater meat development.
The acclaimed stock sold well as witnessed by $5,000 paid for Wyoming – the highest price ever paid for a bull at that time.
