RIDGEDALE, Mo. — This storm did not start six games ago.
It has been brewing since the Missouri Thunder walked away as the 2025 PBR Teams Reserve Champions, close enough to a championship to know exactly what it feels like to almost have everything they came for.
They haven’t forgotten.
Now the Thunder are rolling home.
Missouri enters Bass Pro Shops PBR Thunder Days presented by DoorDash, Sept. 4-6, at breathtaking Thunder Ridge Nature Arena riding a franchise-record six-game winning streak. At 9-5, the Thunder sit No. 2 in PBR Teams, tied with the reigning league champion Carolina Cowboys and just one game behind the league-leading Nashville Stampede at 10-4.
Five regular-season stops are complete. Thunder Days is Stop No. 6, officially taking the 2026 PBR Teams regular season to its halfway point.
There could hardly be a better time to see it live.
During its six-game charge, including sweeping in Nashville and Austin, Missouri has converted 18 of 30 outs (60%), averaged 264.10 points per game and twice put four qualified rides on the board. The Thunder have gone a perfect 3-0 at consecutive events, climbing from seventh to second in the standings.
Just how hot is Missouri? The Thunder rode 10 of 15 bulls at Gambler Days — just one bull shy of the league single-event mark of 11 set twice last year: Florida in Austin and Arizona in Anaheim.
They aren’t being carried by one cowboy, either.
Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, amid a seven-game ride streak, has become one of the most fascinating athletes in PBR Teams. The Thunder’s switch-hitter can ride with either hand depending on the matchup, and he enters his team’s homestand No. 2 in the MVP race, 11-for-14 (78.57%) for 971.10 aggregate points. Only Austin’s three-time World Champion and two-time Teams MVP Jose Vitor Leme stands ahead of him, 92.10 points away.
Rossetto won’t be Missouri’s only rider worth watching. Julio Cesar Marques is No. 14 in the MVP standings, giving Missouri two riders inside the top 15, while Felipe Furlan sits No. 17. Macaulie Leather delivered two 90-point rides during the Thunder’s six-game run.
Then there is Missouri cowboy Maverick Smith, who returned from injured reserve in Austin with a painful wrist and was forced to improvise, riding with his hand palm down instead of his usual palm-up position in the bull rope.
The result?
Three bulls. Three qualified rides. Three Missouri victories.
Smith went a perfect 3-for-3, including becoming the first man to conquer Dirty Bomb, helping the Thunder complete their second consecutive undefeated weekend.
And Kade Madsen is back, returning to Missouri’s roster this season after spending two years away from PBR competition serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Those are the men coming home. And three opponents will be waiting.
Opening night pits Missouri against the Florida Freedom. Saturday brings an in-state showdown with the Kansas City Outlaws, putting Missouri bragging rights on the dirt in front of the Thunder faithful. Then Sunday, Missouri closes its homestand against the Austin Gamblers — the team featuring the very man Rossetto is chasing in the MVP race, Jose Vitor Leme.
Of note, Leme, who won the MVP Award in the league’s first two seasons, is currently riding the league’s most impressive heater. The Gamblers’ franchise star is amid his third PBR Teams career nine-ride streak, becoming the first rider in league history to record three straight perfect 3-for-3 games. Unfortunately, the Gamblers lost five of those nine games.
Three games. Three opportunities to extend the streak. And potentially three enormous steps toward the top of the league.
Waiting for them is one of the most spectacular stages in Western sports.
Thunder Days returns to Johnny Morris’ Thunder Ridge Nature Arena, an outdoor amphitheater carved into the Ozarks near Big Cedar Lodge. This isn’t simply three days of bull riding. It is a destination weekend built around the sport: 10 teams, head-to-head five-on-five competition, the world’s elite bull riders and animal athletes, a family Fan Zone and two major country music performances.
Friday brings multiplatinum country artist Chris Janson, known for “Buy Me a Boat.” Saturday reunites a superstar with her own competitive roots when Miranda Lambert, whose national breakthrough began on Nashville Star, performs following the bull riding under the Ozark sky.
But the main event begins when the chute gates open.
Friday’s PBR Teams action begins at 7:45 p.m. CT, Saturday at 6:45 p.m. CT, and Sunday’s finale at 2:15 p.m. CT.
For fans ready to experience Thunder Days in person, tickets, premium experiences and complete event information are available through the official PBR Thunder Days event page.
Click HERE for Thunder Days tickets & event information.
For those unable to attend Thunder Days in person but who don’t want to miss any of the action, click HERE to find ways to watch and viewing times in your local area.
And whether you’re following along at home or outside at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena, the official Thunder Days daysheet puts the competition at your fingertips. From every ride score to every buck-off time, every bull score and everything in between, the official daysheet provides a breakdown of every matchup throughout Thunder Days.
Click HERE for the official Thunder Days daysheet & results.
There are championships that are won in November.
And there are weekends months earlier when a team begins convincing everyone that November might belong to them.
Missouri came one step short in 2025. Six straight victories have brought the Thunder back within one game of first place in 2026.
Now the storm that has been brewing since last year’s heartbreak is headed home.
Don’t miss the Thunder when it rolls back into the Ozarks this weekend!
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media