Ride, cowboy, ride: What to know about PBR Thunder Days 2023

Ryan Collingwood, Springfield News-Leader
·2 min read

Several of the best bull riders in the world will be in the Ozarks this weekend for PBR Thunder Days, a three-day event in Ridgedale with $1 million in prize money.

The Professional Bull Riders Association affair begins at 7:45 p.m. Friday, 6:45 p.m. Saturday and 1:45 p.m. Sunday. Thunder Days will also feature music, food vendors, beer garden, and autograph opportunities with the riders.

General daily admission is $49 on Ticketmaster and a three-day pass is $126.75. Children 12 and under get in free.

Manoelito de Souza Junior rides bull The Show for the Missouri Thunder in their game against the Oklahoma Freedom on the second day of competition at Gambler Days at the Moody Center, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 in Austin. Oklahoma won the game.
Manoelito de Souza Junior rides bull The Show for the Missouri Thunder in their game against the Oklahoma Freedom on the second day of competition at Gambler Days at the Moody Center, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 in Austin. Oklahoma won the game.

Thunder Days is the seventh of the 10-event 2023 PBR Team Series season, which features the Bass Pro Shops-sponsored Missouri Thunder, a team owned by Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris and co-coached by rodeo legends Ross Coleman and Luke Snyder. The team's general manager is Randy Bernard, who is also the manager of country music star Garth Brooks.

Thunder Days in 2022 was the event that debuted the new Thunder Ridge Nature Amphitheater, also owned by Morris.

"Thunder Ridge has to be one of the PBR’s most picturesque settings and we're looking forward to continuing to grow the fan base in Missouri," PBR spokesman Andrew C. Hatfield said.

A team member on the Missouri Thunder yawns as the team prepare to take on the Oklahoma Freedom on the second day of competition at Gambler Days at the Moody Center, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 in Austin. Oklahoma won the game.
A team member on the Missouri Thunder yawns as the team prepare to take on the Oklahoma Freedom on the second day of competition at Gambler Days at the Moody Center, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 in Austin. Oklahoma won the game.

The PBR Team Series, which also debuted last year, features some the world’s top bull riders competing on teams in five-on-five bull riding games during a season that culminates in a team championship in Las Vegas in November. Events are staged in a tournament-style format with all teams competing in head-to-head match-ups against a different opponent each day.

The Missouri Thunder host the Arizona Ridge Riders, Austin Gamblers, Carolina Cowboys, Kansas City Outlaws, Nashville Stampede, Oklahoma Freedom, and Texas Rattlers.

More: Photos: Springfield Mayor Ken McClure welcomes PBR bull to the Ozarks

The Thunder are led by Colten Fritzlan and Andrew Alvidrez. They have combined for three event wins and, along with Marcelo Procopio Pereira, all sit in the top-30 of the Unleash The Beast standings.

Alvidrez, a Seminole, Texas resident, ranks in the top 10 in PBR earnings this year ($233,168). Fritzlan (Rifle, Colorado), isn't far behind at $157,462.

PBR's top earner this year before his July suspension, former Texas Rattler star Rafael Jose de Brito, earned $1,633,397.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: PBR Thunder Days 2023 comes to Ridgedale arena this weekend