Saddle Up Podcast

Matt Palmquist
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Sports
  • Updated Weekly

Our podcast will explore the many experiences and vast history of the University of Rio Grande Valley (U.T. Pan American) athletic programs! Join us for the countless memories the guests will share reflecting on their time at the University. We can't wait for you to join!

  1. 3d ago

    Chef Mark Sierra

    This week on The Saddle Up Podcast, G Garza and Matt Palmquist welcome Chef Mark Sierra, Army veteran, restaurateur, and founder of the Purple Heart Project of Texas, for a conversation about food, service, sacrifice, and building something bigger than yourself.Chef Mark is the owner of Compadres Hill Country Cocina in Boerne, Texas, a restaurant rooted in family recipes, Texas hospitality, and deep respect for those who have served. His path into the kitchen began when he was just 10 years old, learning to cook from his grandmother after she lost her sight. Years later, that foundation helped shape a career in the culinary world and eventually led him to open Compadres.But Chef Mark’s impact stretches far beyond the restaurant.In 2020, Mark and his wife, Dalia, started what would become the Purple Heart Project with a simple idea: provide a steak dinner to honor local Purple Heart recipients and Gold Star families. That gesture of appreciation grew into an annual gala and a nonprofit dedicated to recognizing combat-wounded veterans, supporting their families, funding scholarships, organizing community service efforts, and ensuring their sacrifices are never forgotten.Chef Mark has also helped spearhead efforts to recognize Boerne as a Purple Heart City and played a role in establishing a Purple Heart monument at Veterans Plaza, creating a permanent tribute to those wounded or killed in combat.In this episode, we talk about his military service, the journey from veteran to chef and business owner, the origins of Compadres, and why supporting veterans and Gold Star families has become such an important part of his life.We also explore the meaning of service after the uniform comes off, the responsibility of keeping the stories of America’s heroes alive, and how food, community, and gratitude can bring people together in powerful ways.Chef Mark’s story is a reminder that service does not end when military service does. Sometimes, it simply takes on a new form.

  2. Sep 24

    Dynamic Duo

    This week it's just G & Matt for the show. We talk about Eddie Lee Marburger signing his pro contract, UTRGV sports, good food, and Matt becoming a semi-celebrity. Tune in and enjoy!------Follow G IG / @gghoops Follow Matt IG / @ptwist610 Welcome to **The Saddle Up Podcast**, the unscripted RGV show where real stories, sports, culture, community, and Vaquero pride all meet at the same table.Hosted by **G Garza and Matt Palmquist**, Saddle Up brings you conversations with former athletes, coaches, alumni, community leaders, entertainers, business owners, and difference-makers connected to **UTPA, UTB, UTRGV, and the Rio Grande Valley**. Every episode is built around honest conversation, good laughs, untold stories, and the people who continue to shape the Valley’s past, present, and future.Whether you are a UTPA alum, UTB alum, UTRGV supporter, Vaquero fan, RGV native, sports fan, or someone who loves authentic conversations, this episode is for you.Subscribe to **The Saddle Up Podcast** for more conversations with the people who represent the Rio Grande Valley with pride.**Find Saddle Up Podcast on:**YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and Apple Podcasts.

  3. Sep 18

    Marsha Terry

    This week on The Saddle Up Podcast, G Garza and Matt Palmquist welcome Marsha Terry, a nurse, philanthropist, wife, mother, community advocate, and co-founder of Village in the Valley, for a conversation about service, family, purpose, and what it really means to build a stronger community.Marsha has spent more than 30 years as a Registered Nurse and earned a Master of Science in Nursing with a focus on Leadership and Management. Her career has been built around caring for people, but that commitment to service extends far beyond healthcare. She is also a coach, speaker, author, entrepreneur, and longtime advocate for helping others discover their voice and purpose.That passion helped lead to the creation of Village in the Valley, also known as ViVa. Founded in 2019, ViVa was built around the idea that “it takes a village to raise a child,” with a mission to elevate and unite the Black community while connecting cultures throughout the Rio Grande Valley. The organization focuses on three central pillars: culture, community, and commerce.Through ViVa, Marsha and her fellow founders have helped create community programs, cultural events, scholarship opportunities, educational initiatives, and service projects across the Valley. By 2025, the organization reported more than 120 members, thousands of dollars awarded in scholarships, and hundreds of Thanksgiving meals distributed to seniors across the RGV.In this episode, Marsha talks about balancing the many roles she carries, from healthcare professional and entrepreneur to wife, mother, and community leader. We discuss the importance of representation, mentorship, philanthropy, and why creating meaningful connections between people can have an impact far beyond any single event or organization.At the center of the conversation is a simple idea: real communities are built when people are willing to show up for one another.

  4. Sep 11

    Abraham Garcia

    This week on The Saddle Up Podcast, G Garza and Matt Palmquist welcome Abraham Garcia, former UTPA Men’s Baseball player, for a conversation that goes far beyond the diamond.Abraham takes us back to his freshman season and one of the moments that has stayed with him ever since, hitting a home run against the University of Texas in Austin. For a young college baseball player stepping onto one of the biggest stages in the state, it was the kind of moment athletes dream about and a memory that still carries weight years later.But this episode is about much more than baseball.Abraham opens up about losing his father at a young age and how that loss helped shape the direction of his life. He discusses the important role his older brother, Bert Garcia, played in stepping up, providing guidance, and helping mold Abraham into the man he is today.The conversation explores brotherhood, family, resilience, and the people who step into our lives when we need them most. Abraham reflects on how the lessons he learned through adversity carried over into baseball, adulthood, and the way he approaches life today.We also revisit his time at UTPA, the teammates and experiences that made those years special, and what it meant to represent the Broncs while competing at the Division I level.It is an episode about a memorable home run, but more importantly, it is a story about family, perseverance, gratitude, and becoming the person others helped you believe you could be.------Follow G IG / @gghoops Follow Matt IG / @ptwist610 Welcome to **The Saddle Up Podcast**, the unscripted RGV show where real stories, sports, culture, community, and Vaquero pride all meet at the same table.Hosted by **G Garza and Matt Palmquist**, Saddle Up brings you conversations with former athletes, coaches, alumni, community leaders, entertainers, business owners, and difference-makers connected to **UTPA, UTB, UTRGV, and the Rio Grande Valley**. Every episode is built around honest conversation, good laughs, untold stories, and the people who continue to shape the Valley’s past, present, and future.Whether you are a UTPA alum, UTB alum, UTRGV supporter, Vaquero fan, RGV native, sports fan, or someone who loves authentic conversations, this episode is for you.Subscribe to **The Saddle Up Podcast** for more conversations with the people who represent the Rio Grande Valley with pride.**Find Saddle Up Podcast on:**YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and Apple Podcasts.

  5. Sep 4

    Victoria Cantu - Miss Mississippi & Miss Rio Grande Valley

    This week on The Saddle Up Podcast, G Garza and Matt Palmquist welcome Victoria Cantu, one of the Rio Grande Valley’s rising media personalities and a familiar face both on television and on the pageant stage. Victoria recently joined ValleyCentral, CBS 4 and NBC 23, as a weekend news anchor, bringing her career back home to the Rio Grande Valley. An Edinburg native and UTRGV graduate, she has built experience across news, weather, traffic, and live television while continuing to expand her education in meteorology. At the same time, Victoria has built an equally impressive path in pageantry. After earning the title of Miss Rio Grande Valley USA 2026, she was selected as Miss Mississippi USA 2026, giving her the opportunity to represent Mississippi on the Miss USA stage. In this episode, Victoria talks about balancing two highly competitive worlds, broadcast journalism and pageantry, while staying connected to the community that helped shape her. We get into the pressure of working in live television, the discipline required to compete at the highest level of pageantry, and what it means to represent the Rio Grande Valley while pursuing opportunities that extend far beyond South Texas. Victoria also shares the personal side of the journey, including confidence, preparation, handling public scrutiny, building a career in media, and learning how to stay grounded while more doors continue to open. It is a conversation about ambition, hometown pride, and what can happen when someone is willing to bet on themselves. Welcome to The Saddle Up Podcast, the unscripted RGV show where real stories, sports, culture, community, and Vaquero pride meet at the same table. Hosted by G Garza and Matt Palmquist, Saddle Up features conversations with former athletes, coaches, alumni, journalists, community leaders, entertainers, business owners, and difference-makers connected to UTPA, UTB, UTRGV, and the Rio Grande Valley. Subscribe to The Saddle Up Podcast for more honest conversations with the people helping shape the Valley’s past, present, and future. Find The Saddle Up Podcast on:YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and Apple Podcasts.

  6. Aug 28

    Eddie Lee Marburger

    This week on The Saddle Up Podcast, G Garza and Matt Palmquist welcome Eddie Lee Marburger for a conversation about football, identity, competition, and what life feels like when the eligibility clock finally runs out.Eddie talks about being on the other side of the lines now, no longer preparing for the next snap, the next opponent, or the next season. For a player who has spent years living inside the structure and pressure of college football, that transition creates a completely different perspective on the game.We also get into what it really takes to be a Division I quarterback. Eddie breaks down the mental side of the position, preparation, leadership, confidence, decision-making, and the pressure that comes with being responsible for an offense when everyone in the stadium is watching.Of course, this is Saddle Up, so the conversation does not stay serious for long.Eddie gives us his thoughts on Uncle Gee-Co, shares some of the craziest trash talk he has heard during a game, and lets us know whether his golf game is actually as good as he thinks it is.It is a fun, honest conversation about football, life after playing, and the stories you only hear when the helmet finally comes off.

  7. Aug 21

    Kris Nava

    This week on The Saddle Up Podcast, G Garza and Matt Palmquist welcome Kris Nava, a UTRGV professor and medical trainer at St. Joseph’s Academy, for a conversation about sports medicine, education, athlete care, and preparing the next generation for careers in health and athletics.Kris brings together two worlds that rarely get discussed in the same conversation: the classroom and the sideline. At UTRGV, athletic training and kinesiology education focus on the prevention, recognition, treatment, and rehabilitation of sports-related injuries, while also preparing students for careers in athletic training and sports medicine.At St. Joseph’s Academy, athletic training plays an important role in student-athlete wellness, including injury evaluation and treatment, game coverage, rehabilitation, emergency procedures, nutrition, anatomy, and sports psychology education.In this episode, Kris discusses what it really takes to care for athletes beyond game day, the importance of injury prevention and recovery, the responsibility that comes with helping young athletes return to competition safely, and how teaching can shape the future of sports medicine in the Rio Grande Valley.The conversation also explores the relationship between coaches, trainers, athletes, parents, and medical professionals, along with the growing opportunities available for students interested in athletic training, kinesiology, rehabilitation, and other healthcare careers.More than anything, this episode gives viewers a look at the people behind the scenes who help keep athletes healthy, prepared, and able to compete.------Follow G IG / @gghoops Follow Matt IG / @ptwist610 Welcome to **The Saddle Up Podcast**, the unscripted RGV show where real stories, sports, culture, community, and Vaquero pride all meet at the same table.Hosted by **G Garza and Matt Palmquist**, Saddle Up brings you conversations with former athletes, coaches, alumni, community leaders, entertainers, business owners, and difference-makers connected to **UTPA, UTB, UTRGV, and the Rio Grande Valley**. Every episode is built around honest conversation, good laughs, untold stories, and the people who continue to shape the Valley’s past, present, and future.Whether you are a UTPA alum, UTB alum, UTRGV supporter, Vaquero fan, RGV native, sports fan, or someone who loves authentic conversations, this episode is for you.Subscribe to **The Saddle Up Podcast** for more conversations with the people who represent the Rio Grande Valley with pride.**Find Saddle Up Podcast on:**YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and Apple Podcasts.**Follow us:**Facebook: www.facebook.com/saddleuppodcast?mibextid=LQQJ4dInstagram: www.instagram.com/saddle_up_pod?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==Spotify: https:// open.spotify.com/show/79B4Gl7miBWwpD4kM1tKIVApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saddle-up-podcast/id1666138276Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/04f3f96f-9dcb-4c42-a91c-a87dfc38655b/saddle-up-podcastiHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-saddle-up-podcast-107415364/**Keywords:**Saddle Up Podcast, G Garza, Matt Palmquist, UTRGV, UTPA, UTB, UTRGV Athletics, Vaquero Athletics, Rio Grande Valley, RGV podcast, best podcast in the RGV, funniest podcast in the RGV, UTRGV alumni, UTPA alumni, UTB alumni, RGV sports, South Texas podcast, college sports podcast, Valley stories, RGV community, UTRGV football, UTRGV basketball, UTRGV baseball, UTRGV athletics podcast#SaddleUpPodcast #UTRGV #UTPA #UTB #RGV #RioGrandeValley #VaqueroPride

  8. Aug 14

    Yaw Sam - RGV's Social Guru & Brand Geniuz

    This week on The Saddle Up Podcast, G Garza and Matt Palmquist welcome Yaw Sam, CEO and co-founder of Brand Geniuz, for a conversation about entrepreneurship, social media, branding, the creator economy, and building something meaningful right here in the Rio Grande Valley.Originally from Ghana, West Africa, Yaw moved to the United States and made the RGV home. He earned both his undergraduate degree and MBA from UTRGV, then turned his passion for marketing and content creation into Brand Geniuz, a Mission-based content marketing agency he co-founded in 2020. Today, the company works with businesses across Texas through social media strategy, content creation, video production, digital advertising, and branding.Yaw has also taken his experience back into the classroom as a UTRGV lecturer in Social Media and E-Marketing, helping the next generation understand how modern brands are built. In 2024, he delivered a TEDx talk titled “Small Actions Build Brands,” centered on how everyday interactions and consistent value can shape powerful personal and business brands.The conversation also explores Yaw’s growing vision for the creator economy in South Texas. As a co-founder of SocialFest, he is helping create a platform where creators, entrepreneurs, marketers, students, and businesses can learn how to turn attention, content, and community into real opportunities. SocialFest drew more than 1,000 attendees in its first year and continues to grow as Yaw and his team work to position the Rio Grande Valley as a destination for creators and brands.From arriving in the Valley from Ghana to becoming a UTRGV graduate, educator, entrepreneur, and one of the RGV’s emerging voices in digital marketing, Yaw’s story is ultimately about recognizing opportunity and then creating more of it for the people around him.------Follow G IG / @gghoops Follow Matt IG / @ptwist610 Welcome to **The Saddle Up Podcast**, the unscripted RGV show where real stories, sports, culture, community, and Vaquero pride all meet at the same table.Hosted by **G Garza and Matt Palmquist**, Saddle Up brings you conversations with former athletes, coaches, alumni, community leaders, entertainers, business owners, and difference-makers connected to **UTPA, UTB, UTRGV, and the Rio Grande Valley**. Every episode is built around honest conversation, good laughs, untold stories, and the people who continue to shape the Valley’s past, present, and future.Whether you are a UTPA alum, UTB alum, UTRGV supporter, Vaquero fan, RGV native, sports fan, or someone who loves authentic conversations, this episode is for you.Subscribe to **The Saddle Up Podcast** for more conversations with the people who represent the Rio Grande Valley with pride.**Find Saddle Up Podcast on:**YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and Apple Podcasts.**Follow us:**Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saddleuppodcast?mibextid=LQQJ4dInstagram: https://instagram.com/saddle_up_pod?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/79B4Gl7miBWwpD4kM1tKIVApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saddle-up-podcast/id1666138276Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/04f3f96f-9dcb-4c42-a91c-a87dfc38655b/saddle-up-podcastiHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-saddle-up-podcast-107415364/**Keywords:**Saddle Up Podcast, G Garza, Matt Palmquist, UTRGV, UTPA, UTB, UTRGV Athletics, Vaquero Athletics, Rio Grande Valley, RGV podcast, best podcast in the RGV, funniest podcast in the RGV, UTRGV alumni, UTPA alumni, UTB alumni, RGV sports, South Texas podcast, college sports podcast, Valley stories, RGV community, UTRGV football, UTRGV basketball, UTRGV baseball, UTRGV athletics podcast#SaddleUpPodcast #UTRGV #UTPA #UTB #RGV #RioGrandeValley #VaqueroPride

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5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Our podcast will explore the many experiences and vast history of the University of Rio Grande Valley (U.T. Pan American) athletic programs! Join us for the countless memories the guests will share reflecting on their time at the University. We can't wait for you to join!

Information

  • Creator
    Matt Palmquist
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    158
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Matt Palmquist
  • Show Website
    Saddle Up Podcast

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