Missouri Thunder returns for Thunder Days

Missouri’s Pro Bull Riders (PBR) team, the Missouri Thunder, is returning to their home arena Thunder Ridge for a Labor Day weekend extravaganza. 

Bass Pro Shops PBR Thunder Days presented by DoorDash will take place Friday, Sept. 4 through Sunday, Sept. 6, at Thunder Ridge Arena in Ridgedale. The weekend has a full schedule of bull riding and country music with Chris Janson performing on Friday and Miranda Lambert performing on Saturday. According to Missouri Thunder General Manager Luke Snyder, there will be gospel music and worship on Sunday.

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“We're ready to host a full scale event and pair up these great concerts with Chris Janson and Miranda Lambert. We got a great fan zone out in the parking lot with tons of vendors and kids’ activities. So, from start to finish, there's something to do for everybody. We're gonna do a church service on Sunday, with some gospel music,” Snyder said. “As you can imagine in such a dangerous sport, all these guys on the team definitely know who God is, and it's good to pray to the big man before you go out there and compete.”

Snyder said the team is excited to make their return to Missouri, especially to be able to be back at Thunder Ridge.

“We are so excited our home state event is back at Thunder Ridge, our namesake, Missouri Thunder, and vice versa. That's why that arena's named Thunder, and that was and always will be our home. Some of the very first events in Thunder Ridge infancy was bull riding, and we hosted private events, and we put on private bull rides,” said Snyder. “Now it's grown into hosting the tip of the spear and the most elite bull riding tour on the face of the earth in the PBR team series. We get to bring it home.”

For the last few years when the PBR Team Series came to Missouri it was hosted at JQH, now Great Southern Bank Arena, in Springfield.

“We haven't been back since 2023. You know, typically the event's been held in Springfield. So, we are so excited to bring it back to Thunder Ridge,” Snyder said. “Thunder Ridge is the most beautiful backdrop and all sports venues, in my opinion. When he (Johnny Morris) was designing, he went around the nation and just kind of took the best of every amphitheater and outdoor venue he saw and rolled it all into this package that you get. All the teams, not just Missouri Thunder, love going outdoors. It is where we all started riding outdoors. It's a throwback to our roots and we're expecting really good weather. You have Table Rock Lake right in the background and we're gonna do some fun stuff with some military flyovers. It's gonna be a really great, great event.”

This season the Missouri Thunder has seen some great success.

“We have been on a surge the first half of this season. So, there's a regular season and then there's when we go to Las Vegas to the finals, then there's a champion crown at the finals. We're off of the hottest start that we've ever had. In the past, we've always got really hot towards the end of the season, but this year we have started off with a hot start,” said Snyder.

Bull riding is a sport of wills against two athletes, the rider and the bull. Snyder said the Missouri Thunder team this year has been built to bring the strongest will and athletic ability to the arena. 

 “We have the best athletes we possibly can to assemble with this team this year. The team that we built this year is probably the best team Missouri Thunder has had on paper since the inception of teams in 2022,” Snyder explained. “We have a 10-man roster, and each night we only play five guys, and that'll be our starting lineup. We have a mix of veterans and rookie riders in the PBR series.”

Snyder said veteran bull rider and head coach Ross Coleman may change the line-up depending on the bulls. 

“As far as where the coaching aspect comes in, we know bulls ahead of time, and then we have the opportunity to take 10 guys and look at these five bulls and try to pair their strong suits,” Snyder said. “It’s the best possible way to give us a chance to ride as many bulls as we can in the game. These past two weekends, it's kind of been the same line-up. Ross knows what works. He is a great coach and when I was coming up in the bull riding arena, he was the guy who helped me out. Now he is the one who pushes our team to be their best.”

The Missouri Thunder includes the following bull riders: Missouri native, Maverick Smith; Brazil native, Felipe Furlan; Australian native, Macaulie Leather; Brazil native, Julio Cesar Marques; Utah native Kade Madsen; Brazil native, Ramon Fiorini; Brazil native, Paulo Eduardo Rossetto; Brazil native, Angelo Junior L. Rossetto; Texas native, Mason Taylor; and Brazil native Miguel Alves De Jesus.

“The veterans set a good example for the rookies, and the rookies make the veterans feel young again and still keep that fire in the locker room. So, it's a very healthy mix like these older guys can set a very good example, but it's also having that fresh rider on tour, that excitement, and it rubs off on everybody,” Snyder said. “The rookies help so it doesn't get monotonous. When you've been around it too long, and everything starts feeling the same. So, we have such a healthy mix. Each one of these guys have been meticulously picked to be on this team. First of all, of course, we look for riding ability, but we also look for talent, but also talent that could be developed.”

Snyder said the riders train nonstop and just like athletes of other sports one of the major concerns is keeping the team healthy. 

“The team has strict training with Coach Coleman. They also have their physical therapy routines, workout routines and they do all the things any other professional athlete will do during the week with the ice pass and acupuncture,” Snyder said. “We have a healthy team, which is huge right now at the almost halfway point in the season. Over the last five years, we've kind of been able to tweak and dial in our team to get the most from our athletes.”

The other aspect which Snyder brings the team its success is its closeness.

“It's like a big family for these guys. Felipe and Julio are best friends, so they room together on the road. Paulo's little brother Angelo is on our team, so they have family with them. It's really great emotional support for each other coming over to the United States fresh away from their country and having that support. But when the team comes into the locker room, it's a big family,” said Snyder. “They all room together, practice together during the week, train together. It really builds a strong bond.”

For tickets to Bass Pro Shops PBR Thunder Days visit www.thunderridgenaturearena.com/pbr-thunder-days-presented-by-doordash.