DENVER — Following the end of the Denver Broncos’ 1992 season, always looking for ways to enhance the fan experience, former owner Pat Bowlen asked his general manager to contact renowned local Arabian horse breeder Sharon Magness Blake to see if she had a white horse that would make a suitable mascot for his team.

She happily agreed to provide the Broncos a stallion named JB Kobask for the 1993 football season. That horse became known as Thunder. Magness Blake noted that “he was probably the most powerful horse I’ve ever ridden.”

Storming the field during pregame introductions and after touchdowns and field goals, Thunder would represent the Broncos for the next 11 years and made appearances at Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII.

Thunder Dos replaced Thunder in 2005. “He was a sweet, sweet horse,” said Magness Blake. “He would do anything for Annie Judge (Thunder’s rider and trainer beginning in 1998).”

In 2014 through 2020, Thunder III assumed mascot duties. “He was strong-minded, brave, and thought he knew more than you did.” Thunder III was at Super Bowls XLVIII and 50.

With an even disposition, Thunder IV’s pregame ritual mostly involved eating hay. For the last five years, he has galloped onto Empower Field at Mile High to the cheers of the hometown fans. Thunder IV is now 19 years old. His owner, Sharon Magness Blake, felt it was time to put him out to pasture in order not to overextend himself. “And then we’re all getting older,” confessed Magness Blake.

After 33 years and with no replacement for Thunder IV, the Thunder Spirit team is riding off into the sunset.

Magness Blake continued, “It’s hard to give it up. But you know, John Elway told me one time, “Sharon, always leave when you’re at the top.”

She added “the highlight for me has been that moment when Thunder leads the team onto the field. It gives me goosebumps every time.”

Co-owner of the Broncos Carrie Walton Penner offered “on behalf of our organization and all of Broncos Country, we thank Sharon Magness Blake and Ernie Blake, Ann Judge and the entire Thunder Spirit team for their extraordinary contributions to the Denver Broncos.

“We have the deepest appreciation for what Sharon, Ernie, Ann, and the Thunder Spirit team have meant to the Broncos, and look forward to building on their incredible legacy.”

Yet-to-be-disclosed Thunder V will make his debut this season.