Texas Brags Pay Off For Gebhardt Cowboy

Sit a spell and shoot the bull with Monty “Hawkeye” Henson and you’ll think he’s just a regular Texas cowboy. Like any cowboy worth his Skoal, Henson likes a good ride on a bucking saddle bronc, a cool longneck in a rowdy tavern, and. of course, bragging about Texas. But these days he’s more than a regular cowboy; he’s one of them celeb-ri-ties who brags not just about the Lone Star state, but about chili powder.

Not just any chili powder, mind you. The handsome thirty-two-year-old rodeo champion is sold on Gebhardt’s chili powder. “Thai’s good stuff,” he says. “It’s the number one selling chili powder in the United States, even though it’s only sold in 25 percent of the country.”

Dandy Don couldn’t have said it better. But why is this rugged saddle bronc rider talking about something you can’t tuck between your cheek and gum or sprinkle over a hardwood dance floor? Because he’s an “official” cowboy. As Gebhardt’s first “Texas Best Cowboy,” Henson is making personal appearances at mall openings, rodeos, and chili cookoffs on the company’s behalf. The arrangement is great for Henson-he’s making some bucks and getting lots of exposure. And if you’re thinking Henson is just another Calvin Klein cowboy from a modeling agency, guess again.

“Our aim with the ’Texas Best Cowboy’ program is to honor cowboy athletes of championship caliber who also personify the independence, character, determination, and will to win that have made the Texas cowboy a hero for all America.” says Norman Broadhurst, an exec with Gebhardt’s parent company. Beatrice/Hunt-Wesson.

Monty Henson is the real thing, chosen by a panel of blue-ribbon judges who picked him from a field of sixteen nominees. A three-time world champion saddle bronc rider with $582,813 in lifetime prize winnings (an all-time record), he’s a natural for the job.

“I take a lot of razzing from the guys,” Henson says. “They always ask me, ’what makes you think you’re Texas’ best cowboy?’ They say I’m self-appointed. I just tell them a bunch of folks in California hired me to do this. I guess it helped when they interviewed me. This was one time when all my bragging paid off. You can always tell us Texans-you just can’t tell us much. I’m proud of Texas. I’ll fight and die here if I have to.”

What has Henson learned since he’s been on the road for Gebhardt’s? “I guess I’ve learned that we Texans aren’t the only ones proud of where we’re from,” he says. “I guess if somebody can live in South Louisiana, in all that heat and mugginess, and like it, well, anyone can be proud of where they live.”

Henson says he’s also learned something about the media. “I’ve done some commentary work on television and the camera doesn’t scare me anymore,” he says. “Because if you mess up, they’ll just do it again.”