KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The turning point of the Missouri Thunder’s season came with a loss

Their fourth loss in a row, in fact, to start the 2023 PBR Teams Season.

But while the previous three losses saw the Thunder fail to record a single qualified ride, this loss was different. While they fell to the hometown Kansas City Outlaws on night two of Outlaw Days in Kansas City, Missouri, they lost 349.5-259.25.

The PBR Camping World Team Series involves no small amount of luck, and the Thunder were on the wrong end of it Friday night. They went 3-for-5 in their losing effort with a score high enough to have beaten any of the other winning teams that night.

“Bull riding, it’s so much momentum you build off just one ride,” Thunder head coach Ross Coleman said. “Yesterday, we rode good. We rode three bulls yesterday, and we still lost. But that was an eye-opener for all our guys.

“I hate to say it was a positive loss. There’s no such thing as that, really. But we needed whatever we could get to get better. We needed that momentum, because we’ve been really having a heck of a time here. The first three games that we played, we were 0-for-15. But when we rode three in a row like we did last night, yes, we were disappointed we lost, but we were more than happy to get some good rides underneath our belt.”

So happy that, in the locker room before game time on Saturday, Coleman had to take them down a peg.

“Everybody was kind of upbeat and almost acting like we won yesterday,” he said. “And I kind of had to give them a little bit of a reminder that we still ain’t won a game yet, so it’s time to go to work.”

And go to work they did. Facing the Arizona Ridge Riders in their final game of the weekend, the Thunder prevailed 176.5-91.5.

Win No. 1 is in the books.

“It’s a big weight off our shoulders, for sure,” Coleman said. “It’s awesome. I knew our guys have it in them.”

The Thunder is the youngest team in the league, and while their youth and inexperience played a role in the team’s slow start, it’s also part of its strength.

“When me and (assistant coach) Luke (Snyder) were scouting and recruiting, we look for guys that are young,” Coleman said. “I mean, Kade Madsen is a perfect example. He just turned 18. It’s crazy, and he’s an amazing bull rider. He really is amazing. He’s super young, and when you’re young, you feel like you’ve got to go prove yourself, and I love that.

“Me and Luke remember when we were young. When Luke showed up, he was like Kade. He just won everything. He won the World Finals at 18 years old, Luke Snyder did. But it took me a little bit. I love that, because of our stories and our differences when we showed up. I was 19 before I made the PBR World Finals, and I barely made it that year. I was struggling all year long, throughout the whole year of PBR, trying to make the Finals. I barely made it. And then I won a go-round there, and then my momentum finally clicked, and the next however many years, I was very successful. But it took me a long time to get started, and it took our guys a long time to get started this year.”

While he says the buckoff streak to start the season was getting in everybody’s heads – his and Snyder’s included – all it took was one ride by Felipe Furlan against the Outlaws to swing the momentum in their favor.

Furlan rode Cuttin Torch for 87.5 points, and that opened the floodgates.

“When Felipe just stuck it on that bull, the momentum and the atmosphere, everybody just went to cloud 9,” Coleman said. “Everybody got that reminder of how good it actually feels to get a good ride like that. And Felipe made a phenomenal ride. He finished strong, and that’s what I’m on these guys about all the time. The way Felipe rode that bull for at least 10 seconds and really got off good and really made an outstanding, cool ride – everybody just had a big sigh of relief, and from there, we started clicking.”

Andrew Alvidrez went on to ride Sky’s the Limit for 85 points, and Madsen closed things out with 86.75 points on Black as Coal.

The momentum kept rolling early on against the Ridge Riders. Joao Lucas Campos led off with 89.25 points on Skippy, and Furlan followed that up with 87.25 points on Roc Solid.

“JLC, our No. 1 guy out tonight, he started us off outstanding,” Coleman said. “He’s a beast, and when he can start us out like that, and then Felipe backs it up with that other great ride like he did, the sky’s the limit for these guys.”

Coleman has his young Brazilian riders living near his home in Henryetta, Oklahoma, and says they’ve been working their tails off in practice pens and at Challenger Series events. They train together and travel together, and he truly believes the Thunder are building something special.

The No. 6 Thunder (1-4) will look to keep momentum on their side when PBR Teams heads to the second and final neutral-site event of the season in Anaheim, California, on Aug. 12-13. They will take on the No. 4 Oklahoma Freedom (3-2) on night one and rematch with the No. 7 Ridge Riders (0-5) on night two.

But for now, they’ll enjoy being back in the win column.

“We worked our butt off, and we will keep on continuing to learn,” Coleman said. “I really appreciate these guys, and I’m proud of them. I really am. I’m proud of them. It’s going to keep on getting better.”

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media