Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Thunder is the stage name for the horse who is the ofcial live animal mascot for the Denver Broncos football
team. Three purebred Arabians have held this role since
1993, all gray horses whose coats lightened with age
until they turned completely white. Sharon MagnessBlake has owned all three horses, and Ann Judge has
been their rider since 1998 and trainer since 1999. As
of 2016, Thunder has appeared in four Super Bowls
with the team since 1998. The original Thunder performed in Super Bowl XXXII and Super Bowl XXXIII
and Thunder III appeared in Super Bowl XLVIII and
Super Bowl 50. Thunder III also made appearances in
Times Square and on television morning news shows in
New York City as part of the pre-game promotion for Super Bowl XLVII. He routinely appears in parades, makes
hospital and school visits, and attends various other public functions. He has been own on airplanes, ridden in
elevators, and appeared indoors at press conferences and
banquets.
1 History
2 MASCOT DUTIES
Mascot duties
Thunder leads the team onto the eld from a tunnel shaped like
the Broncos horsehead logo (seen at right), with cheerleaders,
pyrotechnics and crowd noise.
but not a safety.[14] Each time he makes a run, a fourperson crew runs down the sidelines to the end zone to escort Thunder back to his sideline position. Extra handlers
ensure the safety of the horse and surrounding people.[15]
Thunders helpers also remove any manure that he might
drop while on the eld.[4] As well as his support crew,
Thunder has a bodyguard who travels to the games.[16][17]
Thunder shares mascot duties with Miles, a human who
wears a horse head mask atop a Broncos uniform.[13]
The horses who have served as Thunder have been trained
to remain calm in situations that would normally cause a
horse to respond with a ght-or-ight response, such as
the ashing explosions of a pyrotechnic display, or items
suddenly landing on the eld including skydivers with
parachutes and various objects thrown by spectators, or
loud music and the sounds associated with tens of thousands of cheering fans at Mile High.[1][18] Ann Judge has
explained that because so many unexpected things can
happen, it is important that the people working with him
remain calm; it is trust in his rider and handlers, not just
desensitization, that helps the horse remain steady: You
want them to look to you for the appropriate response and
for condence and faith so that the ight response doesnt
get initiated.[1] She describes the process by saying, if
something is fearful to him, as long as he looks to me,
and I tell him hes OK, hes OK.[19] The only frightening stimuli that was an ongoing problem for both Thunder
Sr. and Thunder II was when the crowd would perform
the wave; Thunder Sr. would stand still, but tremble.[20]
Thunder II would become tense, requiring ground handlers and his rider to help steady him.[21] Thunder III
is the rst of the mascots to tolerate wearing earplugs,
which help protect his hearing from loud noises during
games.[22]
3
and excitement as Thunder leads them onto the eld, explaining that To him, amped up means danger.[19] On
one occasion, a person walked out unexpectedly in front
of Thunder as he was leading the players onto the eld.
Thunder stopped immediately, averting a potentially dangerous situation.[12] Another unexpected event occurred
in 2014 during Super Bowl XLVIII when the pyrotechnics display was supposed to have been executed before
Thunder led the team out but it went o unexpectedly
during his run. Thunder responded to the situation with
aplomb, continuing to run forward onto the eld, though
he performed ying lead changes with each explosion.[19]
2.1
3.2
3.2.1
Horses
Thunder Sr.
BACKGROUND
lion GG Jabask, and a grandson of the Polish-bred Arabian *Bask,[lower-alpha 2] a multiple U.S. National Champion after his importation to the United States. JB Kobask
also had a substantial amount of Crabbet breeding in his
pedigree.[47]
The stallion was kicked by a mare in a 1997 breeding accident, resulting in a fracture that required two
arthroscopic surgeries on his stie, akin to knee surgery
on a human, and was out of commission for six weeks;
another two months was needed before he could gallop at
full speed.[5] Following his recovery, he resumed his mascot duties and appeared at Super Bowl XXXII in January
1998.[20][31] He served as the Broncos mascot for 11 years
and was retired in 2004 after developing arthritis, which
made it dicult for him to gallop down the eld.[44] He
continued to make community appearances[13] until his
death in 2009 at age 27.[8]
Thunder, Sr. was noted for his bold personality, and was
described by Magness-Blake as having a strong ego.[4]
He had been trained to rear on command.[2] Yet he remained calm and controlled in very intense situations,[20]
and Judge believed he had a sixth sense for when to be energetic for a performance and when to calm down. The
stallion was notably gentle around children who wanted
to pet him.[2] During games, when he was waiting to perform, he had a tendency to watch players on the eld.[19]
3.2.2 Thunder II
Winter Solstyce, an Arabian gelding foaled in 1994,[12]
became Thunder II in 2004.[12][24] He was MagnessBlakes personal riding horse for several years prior to
becoming the Broncos mascot.[24] His paternal grandsire is *Salon, a Russian-bred Arabian stallion from the
Tersk Stud exported rst to Germany and later brought to
the United States. Winter Solstyces maternal grandsire
is *Gondolier, who was a Polish National Champion and
World Champion Arabian stallion at the Salon du Cheval
in Paris, imported to the U.S. in 1981. The remainder of
his lineage traces back to the Arabian horse breeding programs of Poland and Russia. He is linebred to the stallion
Negatiw, who appears four times in his pedigree.[48]
Thunder II stands 14.3 hands (59 inches, 150 cm) tall
and weighs over 900 pounds (410 kg).[49] Nicknamed
"Dos" by Judge, Thunder II has been described as somewhat timid with a more subdued personality than his
predecessor.[4] Initially, he was nervous of the white
markings on the football eld and would try to jump over
them. He was also afraid of the cheerleaders pom-poms.
For desensitization training, Judge and the rest of ThunThe original Thunder (JB Kobask) in 2004
ders team would haul him to the football eld at a local high school to work with people carrying pom-poms
JB Kobask, a purebred Arabian stallion foaled in 1983, and to run across a marked eld.[21] His handlers used
became the rst live horse mascot for the Broncos in operant conditioning with positive reinforcement, associ1993 after a successful horse show career.[4][20] He was a ating pom-poms with a carrot treat. Eventually, he began
son of the reserve U.S. National Champion Arabian Stal- turning to his handlers anticipating a treat whenever he
5
posed to a variety of situations, including open horse
shows where he could become accustomed to crowds
and activity.[11] Like Thunder II,[53] he has appeared
at Magness-Blakes annual Western Fantasy fundraising
banquet for the Volunteers of America.[54] He is people
friendly and has been described as social and quite the
poser.[11] Unlike his predecessors, he tends to ignore the
antics at football games, preferring to doze o when not
performing.[19]
4 See also
Charlie-O
Thunder II (Winter Solstyce) warming up on the eld prior to a
2010 game
[4]
Thunder III
Traveler (mascot)
Warpaint (mascot)
5 Notes
[1] Gray horses have a hair coat that depigments with age until it is almost pure white, or in some cases, ea-bitten";
white with small darker spots.[3]
[2]
6 References
[1] Work, Nikki (January 28, 2016). Thunder before the
storm: Denver Broncos mascots prepare for big day miles
away from players. Greeley Tribune. Retrieved February
2, 2016.
[2] Parkinson, Mary Jane (October 6, 2012). Heritage
Horse: JB Kobask (Thunder)". Arabian Horse World. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
[3] Gray Coat Color / Melanoma. Animal Genetics Inc.
2014. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
[4] Pomeroy, L.A. (2012). Thunder: Denvers Favorite
Bronco (PDF). Modern Arabian Horse. Arabian Horse
Association. pp. 6267. Archived from the original
(PDF) on November 14, 2014. Retrieved January 26,
2014.
[5] Public Relations Department (October 30, 1997).
Denver Broncos Mascot Returns to the Field After
Colorado State Equine Surgeon Repairs Injury (Press
release). Colorado State University. Archived from the
original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 17,
2014.
REFERENCES
[42] Stebbins, Jane (June 28, 2004). "'I do, I do; Lets party!'".
Summit Daily. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
[43] Ann & Thunder, Denver Broncos Mascot. Judges
Choice Training Center. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
[46] Magid, Arlene (2009). How to Read a Pedigree. arlenemagid.com. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
[47] JB Kobask. All Breed Pedigree. Retrieved January 26,
2014.
[48] Winter Solstyce. All Breed Pedigree. Retrieved January
26, 2014.
[49] Horse Collar Day of Thunder. ESPN. November 20,
2013. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
[50] Raymond, Allie (October 17, 2015). The Squeeze:
Vons Vision, Key and Peele and Thunder II. Denver
Broncos. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
[51] Me N Myshadow. All Breed Pedigree. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
[52] Twos Company Day of Thunder. ESPN. November
20, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
[53] Davidson, Joanne (October 24, 2013). Davidson: 20
years, $20 million for Volunteers of Americas Western
Fantasy. The Denver Post. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
[54] Davidson, Joanne (October 18, 2015). Western Fantasy:
Its not just the cowboys who have true grit. The Denver
Post. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
External links
Denver Broncos- Super Bowl 50 Entrance (video).
YouTube. Feb 7, 2016. Team coming onto the eld
for Super Bowl 50 led by Thunder at 0:40
Super Bowl 2014: Broncos, Seahawks Enter the
Field (video). AOL. February 3, 2014. Thunder
entering eld at Super Bowl XLVIII at 0:18
Denver Broncos #Time to ride (video). Vine.
2014. Retrieved February 2, 2014. Overhead view
of Thunder leading the Broncos onto the eld at the
2014 Super Bowl
Denver Broncos mascot, Thunder 2013 (video).
YouTube. Jan 8, 2014. Spectator video of Thunder
galloping down the eld after a touchdown
8.1
Text
Thunder (mascot) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunder_(mascot)?oldid=739371995 Contributors: Rich Farmbrough, Bender235, Swid, Choess, The Rambling Man, Nikkimaria, Ian Rose, Gilliam, Montanabw, Magioladitis, DrKay, Legobot, Yobot,
AnomieBOT, Betty Logan, Jonesey95, Gerda Arendt, Cassianto, Dewritech, Staszek Lem, Donner60, Atsme, Frietjes, Go Phightins!,
BG19bot, BattyBot, Soulbust, UW Dawgs, TFA Protector Bot, Pietro13, Scskygod, Eurodyne, FACBot, Vesuvius Dogg, My Chemistry
romantic, Hatrack1960, Lizard the Wizard, White Arabian Filly, ScratchClubYoutube and Anonymous: 13
8.2
Images
8.3
Content license