SAN ANGELO, TX – Behind each rodeo story written, there are numerous others that stay behind the chutes. It’s past the sector lights – again the place horse trailers with dwelling quarters park and Gold Buckle Beer is handed out of tiny fridges and coolers – that a number of the greatest tales are advised and the place they’re retold over time.
Justin Rumford and Josh “Hambone” Hilton grew up in rodeo and nonetheless make their livings within the sport at this time. Rumford is a rodeo entertainer who has been named the PRCA Clown of the 12 months every of the final 10 seasons; Hilton is a two-time PRCA Music Director of the 12 months. Rumford carried out on the 2021 San Angelo Rodeo.
Collectively, they make up RümpChät, a podcast that tells probably the most fascinating of these tales in methods which might be entertaining, enlightening and downright hilarious.
“What makes it really easy is that it’s all the time simply been us being us,” mentioned Hilton, initially from the hamlet of Sidney, Iowa, within the state’s southwestern nook. “We barely do any, if in any respect, present prep; we simply activate the mics and go. We’re simply sitting within the trailer, having a drink and BSing. That’s what makes it pure.”
It’s conversational and enjoyable, and it’s extremely popular.
“You don’t hear the actual tales fairly often,” mentioned Rumford, a third-generation cowboy from a stock-contracting household who has executed nearly every little thing in rodeo. “On the opposite podcasts, it’s not the actual tales. Our tales transcend the floor, the place others don’t. We get lots of cool individuals on our present.”
That’s simply one other facet for the 2 males which might be additionally Cinch endorsees. Their friendship started a decade and a half in the past, earlier than both thought-about the roles in rodeo that they’ve now. They had been simply looking for their methods within the sport they love, and their personalities and passions intertwined with bucking broncs and bulldogging.
It’s these shared experiences which were the guiding power behind RümpChät’s recognition… effectively, that and their massive listing of contracts inside the rodeo trade. Their present has hosted rodeo legends like Joe Beaver and Bob Tallman and uncovered Jacob Edler as the person to beat on the afternoon earlier than he clinched the steer wrestling world championship Dec. 12, 2020.
“I needed it to be precisely what it’s; I simply needed it to be actual,” Rumford mentioned. “It’s me and
Hambone speaking like we usually speak. I don’t need something to be pretend. I really feel like there are lots of these podcasts the place individuals wish to step across the reality. I don’t need this to be solely for the rodeo crowd. I need it to be extra for individuals concerned in agriculture, people who find themselves farmers and ranchers and blue-collar guys. We’re arising on one million downloads in lower than 100 episodes. I by no means thought it could get huge. Now we get about 6,000 downloads a day. I actually take pleasure in it.”
He ought to. What he says on the podcast are issues he says in on a regular basis life. It’s Rump being Rump whereas speaking to a pricey pal in Hambone, who’s equally as humorous. The company are simply an added profit to this system and, boy, do they get some unbelievable company.
“We similar to to share our experiences and different peoples’ experiences,” mentioned Hilton, who now lives in San Angelo, Texas, together with his spouse, Whitney, and their son, Gus; he’s the rodeo supervisor for the San Angelo Inventory Present and Rodeo. The podcast is for those who don’t get to go to the rodeos advert take heed to the rodeo tales from across the trailer. It’s enjoyable to share that aspect of it and of our pals with the rodeo world, the Western sports activities world. Now we have full belief with one another. He’s executed just a few offers on his personal as a result of I used to be busy. He was ensuring we had content material out. RümpChät rattling certain isn’t RümpChät with out him, and he feels the identical about me. We simply have that belief, and we’re such good pals. We wouldn’t wish to do it with out one another.”
Every man factors out, although, that it’s greater than a two-man operation.
Aaron Ferguson is a former bullfighter and entrepreneur who helped give you the concept; Justin Jacobucci is a former bull rider who’s now a graphic designer; and Ashley Rumford handles different duties for the RümpChät model.
The enterprise continues to be rising. Because the faces of RümpChät, Hilton and Rumford know the potentialities are infinite.
“That is one thing that’s been good for me,” mentioned Rumford, who lives in Ponca Metropolis, Oklahoma, together with his spouse and their three kids, Livi, Lola and Bandy. “This may very well be one thing that I can do in my post-rodeo profession that might maintain me concerned in rodeo. I wish to do extra RümpChäts. As a lot as I take pleasure in rodeo, if I might make this greater so I might have extra house time with my household, then it could be a great commerce off. Our loyalty is to our households. After I wish to be executed rodeoing, and I don’t know when that’ll be, I wish to have one thing like this so I will be round my household extra however nonetheless concerned in rodeo That’s the onerous half about rodeo; prime personnel are sought-after and on the street quite a bit. When the triplets had been youthful, the Rumfords had been on the path collectively. With the youngsters in class, the alternatives to try this are fewer.”
Hilton is equally as busy; although he has a full-time job in west Texas, he additionally hits the street many instances all year long, and most of these are with out his spouse and younger son. That additionally makes it harder to place collectively content material.
Earlier this 12 months, the 2 took benefit of working the Nationwide Western Inventory Present and Rodeo in Denver and recorded a number of episodes; they’ll do this all year long after they can. Expertise has additionally allowed Rumford and Hilton to proceed their podcast even after they’re not collectively, and that’s been good for everybody concerned.
“The factor about rodeo is that guys are driving on a regular basis, and so they’re all the time in search of one thing to maintain them entertained,” Rumford mentioned. “There are such a lot of of these rodeo guys that hear to RümpChät. After they begin to hear, they begin calling me and telling me they wish to be on the podcast or that they know somebody can be nice to be on the podcast. That’s how we get lots of our company. When (five-time world champion steer wrestler) Luke Branquinho got here to Denver two years in the past from California, all they did was take heed to RümpChät.They needed to be on, as a result of it’s enjoyable. You possibly can inform your story, and we are able to all snort about it.”
That’s the commonest theme to RümpChät: The company are humorous, and so they’re tales will be comedic, entertaining and all the time memorable.
“Individuals get to see extra of who we’re,” Hilton mentioned. “We’ve bought to get some heart-warming stuff. We wish to be pure. We get into conversations that aren’t comedy. We’re studying as we go.”
Nonetheless, no one laughs greater than the hosts. It’s a part of what makes RümpChät so nice.
“Individuals simply need a break free from their day, a break from stress,” he mentioned. “Individuals wish to snort, and other people must snort. It’s only a pure expertise. “I adore it as a result of I’m simply attending to snort with my buddy. It’s humorous listening to it simply how many instances we are able to get ourselves guffawing. I’m like everybody else; I like being round him.”
That’s the true secret behind RümpChät’s success.