FORT WORTH, Texas – Missouri Thunder star Andrew Alvidrez may have had to wait until the final Championship Sunday of the season for PBR CEO Sean Gleason to present him with his first-ever Mason Lowe Award.

But after seeing how happy and honored the “Warrior” was to be associated with one of the Western world’s dearest awards, it’s safe to say it was well worth the wait.

“I had a chance to sit down with Mason’s wife, Abbey, after he passed away and we decided to create this cross. Mason wore a cross very similar to this. In-laid in this is the leather of the boots he was wearing on the day that he passed away,” Gleason shared before tens of thousands of fans inside AT&T Stadium.

“There’s only a handful of these. It’s one of my favorite honors that I get to hand out every year and I couldn’t think of a better guy than Andrew Alvidrez to receive this.”

For a man who’s rather religious, himself, regularly pointing to the sky following his time on the dirt, it’s pretty fitting that he’s got a new cross to sport as he continues to live through his savior.

All while honoring the legacy Mason Lowe forged during his own time competing.

Having created the tour-topping 94-point ride aboard now two-time YETI World Champion Bull Man Hater a few months back in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the 28-year-old knew he had a good chance of securing said honors, as scores like that don’t come around very often.

Hats went flying.

Handshakes, fist bumps, elbow knocks and just about every other possible celebration was exchanged as an entire arena shared an epic 8 seconds of greatness.

“Man, this is what you live for, you know?” Alvidrez told Matt West following his conversion on PBR’s YouTube stream.

“I just thank God for this opportunity, the Missouri Thunder, PBR, my buddies back here pulling me down. This is what you live for. Praise God.”

The pairing, which Alvidrez opted into via an early selection in the event’s short round bull draft, represented the fifth dance between the noted veterans.

However, when the buzzer the sounded and the chaos began, the instance served as the first time Alvidrez was able to take a victory lap, with Man Hater earning the win in each of the duo’s initial four matchups.

Which now marks the second-straight year that Man Hater was involved in the special award, as the skilled animal athlete teamed up with 2024 PBR World Champion Cassio Dias for an epic 94.75-point ride last season.

Despite turning in a perfect 3-for-3 effort on the weekend, Alvidrez eventually settled for a runner-up effort inside Fiserv Forum, as Sage Steele Kimzey went on to capture his first UTB title by a mere quarter of a point (.25) in the event aggregate.

Of course, that wouldn’t erase the fact the Missouri Thunder star had stamped his resume with a new career-high ride score while propelling himself into quite the momentous run.

Knowing the Mason Lowe Award is awarded annually to the bull rider who records the high-marked ride the Unleash The Beast’s regular season slate meant there were about two months left for the pack to collectively meet or beat the mark set in early-March.

And while fans witnessed longtime pack leader Dalton Kasel team up with the very same bull in late April for an electric 93.5-pointer, Alvidrez’s dance with the animal athlete wouldn’t be matched.

When the regular season was officially in the books and the Seminole, Texas, native climbed atop the shark cage to accept his honors, Alvidrez joined the likes of Dias, Kaique Pacheco (2023), Jose Vitor Leme (2022, 2021, 2020) and Jess Lockwood (2019) as one of just five cowboys to receive the Mason Lowe Award.

When the 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Championship solidified Leme as the third-ever three-time PBR World Champion, Alvidrez found himself ranked No. 13 in the year-end Unleash The Beast standings. Which is quite the improvement from his No. 34 finish in 2024 yet not as impressive as his career-best No. 7 placement from 2023.

Turning in four separate Top 2 finishes throughout the 2025 campaign en route to going 21-for-55 (38.18%) overall, he’s set to bring some sincere momentum into the approaching fourth season of PBR Camping World Team Series action. And knowing he’s got the juice to produce high-flying marks like his 94 and 92-point scores from the season past means Head Coach Ross Coleman and company will be THAT much more excited to get things going in training camp this summer!

Photos courtesy of Bull Stock Media