OF THE SADDLE AND SIRLOIN CLUB 289 



KNIGHT OF THE GOLDEN DAYS 



113. Most delightfully reminiscent of all the makers of 

 bovine history who were wont to gather at the old Drake-Parker 

 hostelry in the days of the Lake Front Show, was Richard Gib- 

 son, whom Mr. Sanders has fitly termed a "Knight of the 

 Golden Days." Mr. Gibson possessed the essence of all those 

 qualities that have made the Anglo-Saxon foremost as breed 

 builders and inherent animal fanciers. He had an exceptional 

 appreciation of the products of the breeder's art, and he loved 

 with every fibre of his being, any choice representative of 

 blooded race. "Like 'Jorrocks' of old he was a devout believer 

 in the eJEcacy of 'a bit o' blood' whether it be in a 'orse, a 'ound, 

 or a woman.' " He was an ardent admirer of rural English 

 sport, the course, the chase, the coach and the cock-pit. He 

 teemed with the sentiment that exalts rural beauty, and treasured 

 its shades and odors. Shortly after coming to America he 

 requested and received acorns from one of the royal domains 

 of Britain, and having successfully grown them into seedlings, 

 he presented some to the city of London, Ontario, for plant- 

 ing in Victoria Park in commemoration of the coronation of 

 King George. 



Richard Gibson was born February 20, 1840, almost within 

 the shadows of Belvoir castle walls. He was the eldest of eight 

 sons in a family of fourteen. In early life his father removed 

 from Leicestershire to Derbyshire. He was educated in the 

 grammar schools of Derby and Lincoln, and received his first 

 business training in the office of a Lincoln grain merchant. Fol- 

 lowing this, he returned to his father's farm, Swarkeston, and 

 for four years worked patiently to learn the details of the farm- 

 ing and livestock operations upon an estate of approximately 

 600 acres. Here he managed to win several prizes for excep- 

 tional work in plowing and cultivation. When twenty-one he 

 and his brother John, (of Lincoln sheep fame in Canada), 



