Uma Musume: Becoming a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 268: You’re Using Cosplay Outfit Changes as Obstacles?

"Mm-hmm! Is that okay, Kitahara?"

Oguri Cap nodded repeatedly, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "The Thanksgiving Festival events shouldn't be as intense as actual races, right?"

"In that case, as long as I manage my time well, I should be able to participate in more activities."

"And if I play more and use up more stamina, then when I go to the 'Big Eater Derby' later, I'll be able to eat more."

"So that's what you're thinking…" Kitahara couldn't help but laugh, then thought for a moment and nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem."

"However, for the obstacle race, we'll still need to wait for Rudolf's side to confirm things with the other academies."

"Although I didn't include foreign horse girls in the plan for this particular event…"

"The accompanying 'Youth Edition Japan Cup' does include invitations."

"So we'll talk about those events once everything is finalized."

"Also, since you want to participate in the obstacle race, you can practice a bit more with El Condor Pasa and the others."

Rubbing his chin, he chuckled slyly. "Interesting… if this proposal actually gets approved, then arranging training for you in advance like this…"

"Would that count as cheating?"

Oguri Cap, already excited after getting a positive answer, didn't notice Kitahara's last remark at all.

She simply greeted him and ran off to the board game area to ask El Condor Pasa how to play basketball and dodgeball.

Kitahara didn't follow to give further instructions. Instead, after checking in with the other horse girls in the activity center about their thoughts, he headed into an office to continue working.

He planned to review the proposal he had submitted once more.

The proposal he submitted to Symboli Rudolf did indeed include this "obstacle race" event—but it wasn't a conventional one.

The Twinkle Series already had obstacle races.

However, in those races, all obstacles were identical, spacing was strictly regulated, and even the method of clearing obstacles was standardized.

Winning such races required specialized training.

More importantly, obstacle racing wasn't particularly valued in Japan.

Such events were rare, and there wasn't much reference material available.

So Kitahara's approach was to combine elements from various activities in his memory and create something entirely new.

His main reference was an official game project: Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Party Dash.

Unlike the mobile game, this title was designed for platforms like Switch, PS4, and Steam, rather than mobile devices.

Its visuals were also different, using a 2.5D pixel art style instead of 3D.

In that game, there was an event called the "Fan Thanksgiving Grand Obstacle Race."

In that race, participants still had to run and overcome obstacles like in a real obstacle race.

However, the terrain wasn't a standard racetrack—it included grass tracks, dirt tracks, shopping streets, swimming pools, and even houses and tea rooms.

Not only were the environments varied, but the "running styles" differed as well.

Each area contained special items. Using them effectively allowed competitors to gain an advantage.

For example, a "stamina-recovery drumstick" could restore a large amount of stamina, enabling continuous sprinting.

Or a "gliding airflow" item that allowed brief flight for rapid overtaking.

Even more outrageous was the "cannon."

Horse girls entering the cannon would be launched forward over a long distance, even bypassing obstacles.

There were also items to hinder opponents, like banana peels that caused slipping, or springboards that launched runners into the air.

These functioned similarly to the red "debuff" skills in the mobile game.

In addition to helpful and harmful items, there was also a standard mechanic: collecting coins.

Final rankings weren't determined solely by who reached the finish line first, but by total score.

Finishing position did grant points, of course.

But using items, overtaking, and accelerating also contributed to the score.

Collecting "gold horseshoe coins," "silver horseshoe coins," and "bronze horseshoe coins" also added points.

Especially the gold coins—if you collected enough, you could still win overall even without finishing first.

If possible, Kitahara wanted to recreate this "game" in real life.

In fact, he planned to use the Thanksgiving Festival to collect data for this concept, then package it and collaborate with corporate partners he had worked with before.

After all, this was still part of the Uma Musume franchise—perfect for boosting his club's reputation, increasing fan engagement, and generating revenue.

Moreover, the previously proposed mobile game followed the original gameplay closely.

He knew very well how frustrating that highly RNG-dependent system could be.

Under pure randomness, "one stands above all, while countless fail" was an accurate description.

To exaggerate slightly, getting an ideal result even once in ten thousand attempts would already be considered lucky.

For unlucky players or those chasing perfection, that wasn't even an exaggeration.

As the mobile game had already begun rolling out in this world, the Satomi family had released a trial version.

Many professional players and famous horse girls had already tried it.

The feedback was very noticeable—phrases like "effectively cured my chronic low blood pressure" were common.

So, preparing a more casual alternative like Party Dash as a "treatment" for future high-blood-pressure players was clearly a forward-thinking move.

Players would have their frustrations eased.

Horse girl fans would be satisfied.

Participating companies would profit.

And the Eisei Club would gain fame and fans.

Everyone wins.

Kitahara felt this was the very definition of a multi-win scenario.

However, adapting this into a real-life competition required many changes.

The "horseshoe coins" could be retained—simply placing them on platforms or pillars along the course.

Hidden coins could also be added, giving clever but less physically dominant horse girls a fair chance.

The terrain, however, couldn't be too complex.

While varied environments increased entertainment value, places like shopping streets or houses posed safety concerns.

Swimming pools, on the other hand, were fine—they were already part of training.

Following this idea, the obstacle course could be divided into multiple segments.

The training field was a must.

Then there were indoor locations: administrative hall, trainer's office, cafeteria, swimming pool, gym, library, dance studio, outdoor stage, infirmary, dormitory.

Large outdoor areas like the training camp, tree hollow, Three Goddess statues, and carrot farm could each serve as individual segments.

Since the course could be divided like this, the obstacle race could be expanded into a relay format.

Kitahara had considered this before.

Originally, he planned to replicate a relay race inspired by an OVA, where Winning Ticket, Biwa Hayahide, and Narita Taishin ran the final leg.

But now, combining obstacle racing with a relay format meant not only inviting those three, but also recruiting more participants.

Fortunately, the Eternal Club wouldn't lack horse girls.

As for the obstacle design itself, Kitahara had already detailed it in the proposal.

His inspiration came from a four-panel anime: G1 Gold Ship Obstacle Race.

"Gold Ship," of course, referred to Gold Ship herself, who designed the race.

And as everyone knew, her thinking was anything but ordinary.

Naturally, her obstacle race was equally unconventional.

Instead of standard hurdles, the obstacles were more like prank challenges.

The first obstacle: "Find candy in flour."

A tray full of flour contained a piece of candy, and contestants had to find it—without using their hands.

The second obstacle: "Cosplay outfit change."

Participants had to enter a changing room and switch into outfits such as kindergarten uniforms, housewife aprons, or magical girl costumes before continuing.

There were only three obstacles in the anime, and the first two clearly reflected Gold Ship's mischievous personality.

The final one made it even clearer.

The last obstacle was a "borrowed item race."

Normally, this involved random conditions—using tools or completing tasks.

But in Gold Ship's version, the "borrowed item" was… herself.

As a result, she won her own race.

If anyone else had designed it, it would've been heavily criticized.

But since it was Gold Ship, somehow it made sense.

Kitahara intended to borrow this concept, though he would refine it to be more reasonable.

He also had certain tests he wanted to conduct through specific obstacles.

All these designs were included in the proposal submitted to Symboli Rudolf, and he felt confident about it.

Combined with the "Youth Japan Cup" event, the schedule would feature:

A casual, participation-heavy event in the morning

A more formal, competitive race in the afternoon

It seemed like a perfect plan.

However, after several days of guiding his horse girls through training and festival preparations, Symboli Rudolf suddenly summoned him to her office.

Though puzzled, Kitahara agreed.

When he arrived, he found Maruzensky and Mejiro McQueen there as well.

All of them were holding his proposal, discussing something together.

After greeting them, before he could ask anything, Symboli Rudolf spoke with a hint of exasperation:

"Kitahara… this cosplay obstacle segment… are you serious?"

She flipped a few pages toward him—design sheets resembling costume sketches.

"And these designs…"

"Can you really run properly in outfits like this?"

"This isn't a victory outfit. Even for an entertainment event, wouldn't this be inconvenient?"

The design sheet facing Kitahara showed Oguri Cap.

But she wasn't wearing her usual Tracen Academy uniform.

Nor casual clothes, stage outfits, or her G1 victory uniform.

Instead, it was a white formal dress—something suited for festive banquets.

Her accessories were different too—red, white, and green instead of her usual green.

Her diamond-shaped ornament had also changed.

The outfit consisted of a vest, jacket, and mid-length skirt, all in snowy white with gold trim, deep blue accents, and dark red frills.

Her black stockings remained, but her boots had changed to black high-rise ones.

Kitahara was surprised.

Not by the outfit itself—that was his own design.

It was the mobile game skin: "Miracle White Star – Oguri Cap," commonly known among players as the "Christmas Oguri."

Like other skins, it was supposed to be usable only in G1 races.

His reason for including it in the obstacle race was simple:

He wanted to test whether alternate "skin" victory outfits had real effects.

Oguri Cap was the perfect candidate—not only because he was most familiar with her, but because this version was extremely strong.

In fact, among players, there was a saying:

"The only thing that can beat Christmas Oguri… is another Christmas Oguri."

Testing this mechanic was crucial for the Eisei Club's future.

Different victory outfits provided different bonuses.

Having more of them meant more strategic options.

It could even allow his events—like the Youth Cup and Summit Cup—to be elevated to true G1 status.

After all, G1 races required approval from the Three Goddesses.

If alternate victory outfits were recognized, it would mean his events were also recognized.

And if the Three Goddesses approved…

Who could question it?

(End of Chapter)