He’ll Do to Ride the River With… Many Texans--and no doubt some abiding outside our borders--have used the expression for years: “He’ll do to ride the river with.” We give little thought to its origin, but typically it is used to convey highest praise for others in whom we have confidence--whether we’re fording a river, or even if we don’t have a horse underneath us. They say it originated a century and a half ago, when cowboys herded cattle to northern railheads.