A real horse in Japan briefly turned daily life into something that looked straight out of Umamusume: Pretty Derby, escaping its campus stable, taking a short trip through the city, then deciding on its own that it was time to go home.
In Umamusume, horses are often portrayed enjoying life outside of campus, getting distracted by city sights, or chasing life beyond training. Well, in a city in Japan, this slice-of-life anime episode briefly played out in real life.
According to translations from Livedoor, the incident unfolded early on January 5 in Kawasaki City, when a horse kept by the equestrian club at Meiji University sneaked out of its stable. At around 7:30 a.m., police received emergency calls reporting a horse wandering through the streets of Tama Ward.
IRL Umamusume moment sees horse wander city
A viral Video from the scene showed a police car trailing behind as the horse peacefully trotted along public roads, in a moment that looked less like a high-risk escape and more like an unscheduled sightseeing tour.
Roughly 30 minutes after the first report, the horse calmly made its own way back to the university campus without assistance. Police confirmed the animal was unharmed, and no injuries were reported.
Authorities are now speaking with those involved to determine how the horse managed to escape from its stable.
While no real-life racehorses featured in Umamusume are known to have taken themselves off on a solo trip into town, one of the franchise’s most legendary characters, Gold Ship, was infamous in real life for his chaotic streak.
He repeatedly refused to load into gates, messed around mid-race, bolted early, and even caused “12 billion yen incident”, which resulted in 83 million USD in losses as he didn’t feel like running fast.
