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Fans mourn the death Haru Urara— beloved racehorse, anime inspiration, and 'shining star of losers'

She lost every single race she competed in, but was a winner in everyone's heart. 🐎💙

Martha Farms

She was a different kind of champion

Sometimes it’s not the winners who end up inspiring us the most. Haru Urara, the Japanese racehorse whose claim to fame was losing every single race she competed in, is a prime example of that.

Haru Urara, whose name roughly translates to "Glorious Spring” or “Gentle Spring,” made her racing debut back in 1998, where she placed fifth—and last. Over the next four-and-a-half years, she would compete once or twice every month without winning.

Even Yutake Take, Japan’s most celebrated jockey, couldn't give Haru Urara her first win. After finishing in 10th place out of 11 horses, Take had nothing but love for her, saying, “She’s an easy horse to ride. She’s just a little bit slow.”

By the time she made her 80th consecutive loss in 2003, Haru Urara was picked up by Japanese media and dubbed "The shining star of losers everywhere,’ which made her a beloved household name, as well as a symbol of persistence and resilience.

Despite her losing streak being very much intact, Haru Urara gained more and more of a loyal following, including that of the Japanese Prime Minister at the time who said she was “a good example of not giving up in the face of defeat." People would wait in line for up to five hours to buy tickets at the "Haru Urara Commemorative Ticket Booth," and place impressive bets on her victory (which is really saying something, since she was all but guaranteed to not win).

Haru Urara even had a slew of merchandise dedicated to her, including stuffed toys, key rings, mobile phone straps, stickers, stamps, train tickets, rice, shochu, hats, T-shirts, and bras. Betting slips from Haru Urara losing races became popular o-mamori, or good luck charms, that fans kept in their cars to ward off traffic jams.

But perhaps most notably, an anthropomorphized version of Haru Urara appears as a character in both the anime and game of Umamusume: Pretty Derby.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Her video game and anime character is described as having “boundless positivity,” which she spreads to all those around her. “She’s always smiling, no matter how many times she loses. She always tries her best and looks on the brighter side of things."

Haru Urara ran her last race in August 2004, ending her racing career with a record of 0 wins and 113 losses. However, she would technically make her first and only win in 2013 in a race specifically for older horses called the "Soft Girls' Gathering.” Still, she retired to Martha Farm as a legendary loveable loser who could really rock a Hello Kitty fly mask.

And on Sept 9th, she passed away at 29 due to colic.

According to PetMD, domesticated horses often live to 25 to 30 years. So, it seems that all in all Haru Urara did pretty well for herself, and was a champion in her own right. It’s clear the positive impact she made simply from the fan responses.






Just goes to show that sometimes a winning attitude does more good than the actual victory. Sleep well, sweet girl.

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Horse ranch raises $17K to rescue two mustangs from abuse—thanks to a viral Facebook post

Clare Staples and her Skydog Sanctuary have saved hundreds of wild mustangs and burros, bringing them back to a freedom they deserve

Photos courtesy of Meta Community Voices
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Horses often invoke feelings of passion, freedom, and graceful power. And though they might not get the title of “Man’s Best Friend,” horses share a special bond with humans.

Just ask Clare Staples, founder of mustang and burro rescue organization Skydog Sanctuary who recently raised a whopping $17K to help two horses —simply by writing a heartfelt post on Facebook.

“I grew up in England where there is a huge culture of horse loving people,” she told Upworthy. “When I was growing up I lived in a sort of imaginary land where I rode everywhere on an imaginary horse, which is a bit crazy, but my love of horses was born at such an early age. I'd be going on long car rides with my family and swiveling my head to look in every horse trailer or every field to see if I could see a horse.”



Growing up, horses became Staples’ “happy place.” In particular, she loved watching American TV shows like “Bonanza” and “Little House on the Prairie”, along with other westerns where “you would see a band of wild mustangs gallop through and steal the mares.”

Considering the image as a “romantic symbol of the American West,” Staples was shocked and sad to later discover that the American mustang’s reality was much less glamorous. As she explained, mustangs who run free on public lands get rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management, making more room for mining and livestock interests. “It makes the American government a lot of money and wild horses don't.” These captured horses and burros receive a Bureau of Land Management “BLM” brand, then get sent to kill pens or get auctioned off.

Staples became determined to offer her hooved friends a place of refuge, so she founded Skydog Sanctuary—a 9,000 acre ranch near Bend, Oregon where wild mustangs and burros can live out their lives peacefully in their natural habitat. The sanctuary also has an 11 acre location in California. In addition to rewilding equines, Skydog aims to raise awareness about the plight they face, in order to bring about change.

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Earlier this year, two young mustangs caught Staples’ eye, as they bore an uncanny resemblance to one of her own horses from Skydog. Sure enough, by looking up their BLM IDs, Staples confirmed they were related. She then posted a Facebook fundraiser to get the siblings reunited.

Within only two weeks, people rallied enough support to reunite the two mustangs—now named Rising Sun and Presley, in homage to Elvis—with their native family.



With around 220 horses and 50 burros to look after, and no grant money, Staples relies heavily on her ever-growing social media community. Luckily, Facebook doesn’t take a percentage of their fundraisers, which gives people all the more incentive to donate, since they know exactly where their money is going. Plus, the platform has expanded Skydog’s reach tenfold—with nearly half a million followers, and fundraiser videos racking up nearly 20 million views.

Staples is especially excited for Giving Tuesday, when Meta, Facebook’s parent company, matches funds up to a total of $8 million dollars. “It means a lot to our followers to know if they donate $10 we're actually getting $20. Every year we just break records for ourselves. It's a really fun day. I feel like Facebook are our partners, because they've helped us grow and then [GivingTuesday] is a real day where we can celebrate them too.”

Connecting with people who care and want to help, combined with the power of social media, gives Skydog the resources needed to rescue horses from the very worst of situations. And for Staples and her followers, “seeing them come back to life and watching them heal on this land is just the most beautiful thing. Rewilding them and giving them their freedom and space back is one of the most extraordinary experiences. It never gets old.”

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After Losing Her Friend To Cancer, This Woman Created a Horse Camp for Pediatric Patients and Their Families.

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When Molly Reeser was a student at Michigan State University, she took a job mucking horse stalls to help pay for classes. While she was there, she met a 10-year-old girl named Casey, who was being treated for cancer, and — because both were animal lovers — they became fast friends.

Two years later, Casey died of cancer.

"Everyone at the barn wanted to do something to honor her memory," Molly remembers. A lot of suggestions were thrown out, but Molly knew that there was a bigger, more enduring way to do it.

"I saw firsthand how horses helped Casey and her family escape from the difficult and terrifying times they were enduring. I knew that there must be other families who could benefit from horses in the way she and her family had."

Molly approached the barn owners and asked if they would be open to letting her hold a one-day event. She wanted to bring pediatric cancer patients to the farm, where they could enjoy the horses and peaceful setting. They agreed, and with the help of her closest friends and the "emergency" credit card her parents had given her, Molly created her first Camp Casey. She worked with the local hospital where Casey had been a patient and invited 20 patients, their siblings and their parents.

The event was a huge success — and it was originally meant to be just that: a one-day thing. But, Molly says, "I believe Casey had other plans."

One week after the event, Molly received a letter from a five-year-old boy who had brain cancer. He had been at Camp Casey and said it was "the best day of his life."

"[After that], I knew that we had to pull it off again," Molly says. And they did. Every month for the next few years, they threw a Camp Casey. And when Molly graduated, she did the most terrifying thing she had ever done and told her parents that she would be waitressing for a year to see if it might be possible to turn Camp Casey into an actual nonprofit organization. That year of waitressing turned into six, but in the end she was able to pull it off: by 2010, Camp Casey became a non-profit with a paid staff.

"I am grateful for all the ways I've experienced good luck in my life and, therefore, I believe I have a responsibility to give back. It brings me tremendous joy to see people, animals, or things coming together to create goodness in a world that can often be filled with hardships."

Camp Casey serves 1500 children under the age of 18 each year in Michigan. "The organization looks different than when it started," Molly says. "We now operate four cost-free programs that bring accessible horseback riding and recreational services to children with cancer, sickle cell disease, and other life-threatening illnesses."

In addition to the day camp, they have also found ways to make horses accessible to immunocompromised, homebound patients through their Horsey House Call program. "[It] deploys 30 times a summer to knock on the doors of vulnerable children and surprise them with a horse for the afternoon," she explains. "Our all-volunteer team and therapy horse stays for about 3 hours to provide rides, grooming lessons, games, crafts, pizza, music, and more."

Other programs offered include Cowboy Camp Outs, an all-inclusive weekend getaway for families, and Lone Star Getaways, which provides a cost-free stay at a privately-owned rental property.

Camp Casey is also collaborating with other nonprofits to increase their impact in the community. They're currently partnering with the Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Association, which spreads awareness of the first all-Black cavalry in the United States. Together, they're deploying some of the Buffalo Soldiers' horses to Horsey House Calls and inviting families to the Buffalo Soldiers stables.

Molly is being named one of Tory Burch's Empowered Women of the year for her work with Camp Casey. The donation she receives as a nominee is being awarded to Camp Casey's programs run at the Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Association.

"The ultimate goal for Camp Casey is to be able to offer year-round programs," Molly says. "Michigan's harsh winters make it difficult to conduct our outdoor programs but, sadly, many of the children who need our services pass away before the weather permits us to serve them."

"We are actively working with the Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Association and the city of Detroit to eventually erect an indoor horseback riding arena that would allow for year-round programs for both nonprofit organizations."

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Willie Nelson saved the lives of 70 horses and gave them a place to roam on his farm.

Country music legend Willie Nelson has a 700 acre ranch in Texas called Luck, and the name is no misnomer, especially for the 70 horses who live there.

They get hand-fed twice a day and have a wide expanse of farm land to roam around on. But most importantly, almost all of them were rescued from slaughterhouses.

Nelson's horse rescue mission has been ongoing over the last several years, and is actually a large part of why he named his property Luck Ranch in the first place.  

"When you’re here, you're in Luck, and when you're not, you're out of Luck,"  Nelson told ABC KSAT 12.

[rebelmouse-image 19534854 dam="1" original_size="700x284" caption="Photo via KSAT/YouTube." expand=1]Photo via KSAT/YouTube.

Horses are much more than a staple of his farm life — they're featured in his music as well. Nelson recently wrote a song about his beautiful rescue horses called "Ride Me Back Home" which will appear on his album that drops this summer. The 87-year-old singer-songwriter spends roughly 200 day stretches on the road touring, so it makes sense he'd be longing for the more laid back life on the ranch with his beloved equines.

Rescuing horses isn't the only sort of on-the-ground philanthropy Nelson's dedicated to though. He also supports struggling American farmers via a nonprofit he co-founded called Farm Aid.

For over 30 years, Farm Aid has been dedicated to building "a system of agriculture that values family farmers, good food, soil and water, and strong communities," as the website states.

Farm Aid also holds annual food and music festivals where some of the biggest names in country music come together to raise money for farmers, and show appreciation for all that they do for this country.

[rebelmouse-image 19534855 dam="1" original_size="700x467" caption="Photo by Scott Streble/Farm Aid." expand=1]Photo by Scott Streble/Farm Aid.

Celebrities and public figures often give money to support causes they care about, but when they get out there and actually make giving back a part of their lives, it's particularly inspiring.

If you're interested in helping Nelson help promote family farmers and the good food movement, there are many ways to get involved. If offering aid to horses that need to be rescued and rehabilitated speaks to you more, Habitat for Horses is a great place to start.

You don't have to be famous or have a lot of money to make an impact. All that's needed is a little effort and drive to make the world a better, more humane, and healthier place to be.

Watch Nelson's whole interview with KSAT here:

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