The grand marshal leading the 2017 National Stock Show Parade won’t be just another boring two-legged VIP. Instead, Thunder, the Broncos’ team mascot, a gray Arabian gelding, will head the traditional parade of Longhorn cattle, horses and western wagons through Downtown Denver on Jan. 5 to kick off the 16-day stock show. “This is a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate Thunder, not only as the best mascot in the NFL, but also as a symbol of our western spirit and a representative of the equine community,” said Paul Andrews, stock show president. It won’t be the first time that the position was held by a big shot with four legs. Related ArticlesJune 30, 2016 Dinger, the Rockies’ purple prehistoric mascot June 21, 2016 Denver Nuggets SuperMascot Rocky April 18, 2016 Report: Colorado public schools should end American Indian mascots In 2007, Rin Tin Tin X, a German Shepherd, supposedly a descendant of Rin Tin Tin, the pooch that an American soldier rescued from a World War I battlefield and went on to become a Hollywood star. Other previous grand marshals have included Mayor Michael Hancock; Federico Pena, Denver’s first Latino mayor; Rich Karlis, former barefoot placekicker for the Denver Broncos and five-time NBA All-Star Chauncey Billups, who played for the University of Colorado.