The
Zen Cowboy
Experience
Our Team
Falk Henlee Hentschel
Founder of The Zen Cowboy Experience, Falk Henlee Hentschel knows what it means to build a life, lose your footing, and find your way back.
Born in East Germany, Falk left a world where dreaming big was rarely encouraged and went on to become a professional dancer, working internationally before building a career as an actor in film and television. Along the way, success was interrupted by profound personal struggles, including a severe psychotic episode that forced him to reevaluate how he was living and what truly mattered.
Years later, after another period of burnout and upheaval, Falk found himself drawn increasingly toward horses, wilderness, breathwork, cold water, and a simpler way of life. Time in the mountains gave him something the fast pace of his former life could not: space, perspective, and a way back to himself.
The Zen Cowboy Experience grew from that journey. Today, Falk brings together his love of horses, wilderness, personal growth, and authentic human connection to create experiences that invite people to step away from the noise, learn, explore, and reconnect with themselves and the world around them.
Barry Cox
Owner of Del Sol Wilderness Adventures, Barry Cox is the original inspiration behind The Zen Cowboy — the first person Falk met who embodied the philosophy before it ever had a name.
Calm in almost any situation, deeply resilient, and quietly capable, Barry has a way of meeting both people and horses exactly where they are. His perspective on life, patience under pressure, and ability to handle adversity without losing his center became a major influence on the spirit of The Zen Cowboy Experience.
Barry has spent most of his adult life working with horses and in the wilderness, and has owned and operated Del Sol Wilderness Adventures since 2007. Over the years, his horsemanship has been shaped by a lifetime of experience and by learning from some of the great horsemen of the tradition, including Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt.
His horses and mules reflect that same approach: gentle, dependable, sure-footed, and exceptionally capable in the rugged terrain of Oregon’s Wallowa Wilderness. Barry’s calm presence creates an environment where people can learn, explore, and experience the backcountry with confidence.
