Horse Connection

geoff young

It has been an eleven-year love affair between the fans of the Denver Broncos football team and the mascot that thundered down the field after each touchdown in a display of grace, power and athleticism. After the first quarter of the September 12th game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bronco nation said farewell to the white purebred Arabian Stallion known as Thunder as he retired from his glamorous career as the team’s symbol of victory. The twenty-year-old stallion was beginning to suffer from arthritis, and like all professional athletes, could no longer take the rigors of the job.

Depending on whom you ask, next to John Elway, Thunder was probably the most popular Bronco during his tenure as the team mascot. Children love him, and his numerous appearances at charity functions (Thunder started the Bronco tradition of hosting an annual Christmas party for underprivileged kids) only enhanced his celebrity.

Besides enthusiastically performing his mascot duties, Thunder has appeared in two Super Bowls, has been part of the color guard presentation at the National Western Stock Show, has appeared at the annual Colorado Chapter of the Volunteers of America Western Fantasy, the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center Champions of Children Dinner, Up With People’s Celebration of Peace Banquet and the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame/John Elway Retirement Dinner. Through all of these events, Thunder has performed with his characteristic grace and dignity, braving enormous crowds in all kinds of weather and traveling countless miles. He’s ridden in elevators, been in tunnels, inside ballrooms, hotels, arenas and stadiums, all in the line of duty, performing like the true professional that he is.

Before home games, Thunder stood in his corral outside the stadium affording fans the opportunity to get up close and personal with the noble stallion. The contact that the fans had with Thunder gave them a personal connection to the team, a chance to interact and actually touch an integral part of the Broncos. He was more accessible than any player and the fans adored him.

Thunder, who is owned by Sharon Magness Blake, made his debut at Mile High Stadium on September 12th, 1993, for the Bronco’s victory over the San Diego Chargers. After each touchdown, the stallion galloped across the field, delighting the crowds, especially the children. Thunder is the only “live” mascot in the NFL, and the embodiment of the spirit that is Colorado. Dallas may have the Cowboys, but we have the horse, and you know the old saying, a horse without a rider is still a horse, but a rider without a horse is not going to make the playoffs.

Thunder, whose registered name is JB Kobast, is a champion show horse whose wins include the Hunter Pleasure Champion of the Wyoming Arabian Horse Association Show in 1993, Reserve Champion of the Pure Breed Western Pleasure at the Colorado State Fair in 1989, and first place in Pure Breed Western Pleasure at the Rocky Mountain Arabian Horse Show in 1989.

Thunder’s career has had similarities to that of an NFL football player. Four years into his role with the Broncos, the stallion had to undergo two arthroscopic knee surgeries. Colorado State University equine surgeons removed fragments of bone from a fracture to Thunder’s right rear stifle joint, the equivalent of a human knee. After a two-week stay in the hospital, the horse began a controlled exercise program and returned to the field several weeks later. Rear stifle joint fractures are uncommon in horses, but a mare that was being bred to Thunder was apparently responsible for delivering a kick that gave the stallion the injury. The NFL never investigated the hanky panky that occurred and the case was closed.

Ann Judge-Wegener has been Thunder’s rider for the past five years and has been quoted as saying that she has the best job in the world. Asked about the personality of the most famous horse in the NFL, Ann describes Thunder as a “really charismatic stallion with a huge ego. It’s evident to the spectators,” she explained. “He is so bold and dynamic and he has a sixth sense as to when he should be on, but when he’s around kids, he just drops his head and lets them pet him.”

Asked about a particularly memorable game with Thunder, Ann recalled the 2000 Monday night game against the hated Oakland Raiders, one of the most intense rivalries in the league. It was cold; fans were rowdy and snowballs were flying. After the game, some Raider players actually went into the stands to fight with the fans. People were screaming and tension hung thick in the air but as Ann remembered, “Thunder just stood on the sidelines in the middle of the deafening noise, waiting. The field was icy so when we took off he would slip and when we stopped he would slide, but he was so composed.” With all the fights and pandemonium going on, I would venture a guess that Thunder was the most centered individual at Mile High Stadium that night. He was the calm in the middle of a storm.

With all of the excitement and noise at a typical NFL game, one would think that there must be something that irritates Thunder. “He’s never quite totally gotten over the wave,” said Judge-Wegener. “As the wave approaches him it kind of freaks him out. He would watch it go around the stadium and as it got closer he would quiver.”

Sharon Magness-Blake plans on building a new barn at her mountain ranch for Thunder’s retirement. In the meantime he will live at Shadowlands, her estate in Greenwood Village. Sharon Magness-Blake is one of Colorado’s most generous benefactors, and that generosity continues with her giving the Broncos a new rookie mascot, Thunder II, a white purebred Arabian gelding. Thunder II, whose real name is Winter Solstice, is Sharon’s personal mount. He is ready to take the Broncos through the 2004 season and beyond. Although he doesn’t have nearly the ego that Thunder has, he surely loves attention, and will no doubt get plenty of that.

May you have a long and healthy retirement noble Thunder. You inspired us with your grace and excited us with your victory gallops. And to the faithful of the Bronco Nation, the sweet memories we share of Denver Bronco victories will always include the pounding of our hearts and the thundering of his hooves.