Uma Musume: Pretty Derby fanatics have come out en masse to send packages of delicious ryegrass to their favourite horse from the game: Haru Urara.
Uma Musume, if you’re not in the know, is an extremely popular gacha game that is getting more players by the day: over the weekend, it enjoyed over 50,000 concurrents on Steam alone (notable, since the vast majorioty of the playerbase is on mobile). In-game, you must further the careers of a variety of horses – obviously represented as horses, here – in order to progress. And it just so happnes that Haru Urara is the current fan favourite.
This flood of new fans have been so passionate in their support the Japanese ryegrass gifting website Live Grass Bank has been sporadically crashing for days due to the intense traffic. However, a public statement from the site has confirmed the orders have been received and these gifts will be sent out over time.
Haru Urara, depicted as a lighthearted pink-haired horse girl in Uma Musame: Pretty Derby, isn’t a particularly great horse. During her professional career, the actual racehorse didn’t win a single race, which is reflected in-game with career goals focused on gaining fans rather than taking home trophies.
However, her delightful character has proven more than enough to garner a fresh fanbase with the worldwide release of free-to-play hit Uma Musame: Pretty Derby. An exceptionally popular gacha game available on both mobile and PC, many players who have yet to nab one of the rarer horses have nonetheless been having a blast with Haru and the other basic characters.
Messages of support for Haru Urara are numerous on the ryegrass gifting website. Alongside each gift, you can leave a lovely message of support, such as “enjoy the grass from a loving sailor”, or the short but sweet “never give up”. We know Haru’s getting the grass too, courtesy of videos posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Then, of course, you have social media, where artists have galloped along to immortalise this feeding frenzy with custom illustrations. It’s safe to say that while Haru Urara may not have won any races in their career, winning the hearts of gacha fans will keep them full for a while.