The cancellation of Umamusume: Pretty Derby’s first official American concert did not stop fans from meeting up. Instead, people who had already cleared their schedules gathered at Knott’s Berry Farm, where the park’s Ghost Town blacksmith reportedly experienced his busiest day ever.
One attendee posted one Umamusume in attendance that the horseshoe maker’s queue had filled for the entire day. Fans reportedly ordered horseshoes featuring the names of their favourite characters, many of whom share names with real-world racehorses.
Fans turned a cancellation into a community gathering
Cygames announced less than a week before the concert that it could not secure the documentation required to stage the event. The publisher said recent changes to United States visa applications had prevented the participating musicians and voice actors from travelling.
The Los Angeles date was the only American stop on the world tour. Cygames refunded concert tickets and offered compensation for booked flights and hotel accommodation, but many fans had already arranged time away and made travel plans.
The cancelled show still brought supporters together in the area. As one fan observed, photographs of meet-ups across the weekend showed a strong sense of community, even for people who had not expected to attend a concert that no longer existed.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby began as a mobile game and later expanded into animated series and comics. Its cast consists of anthropomorphic horse girls based on famous racing champions, a concept that has built a particularly dedicated following.
A very different kind of fan event
Rather than attending Knott’s Berry Farm’s Halloween attractions or the Elvira show, the visiting fans headed for Ghost Town. They spent the day in the park’s Old West setting, sharing plush toys and celebrating their favourite characters together.
A post from the gathering described the blacksmith as “the goat” and captured the unusual crossover between anime fandom and frontier history. The moment was later shared on social media, with the post dated October 24, 2026.
Knott’s blacksmith becomes the unexpected star
The park’s blacksmith has been part of Knott’s Berry Farm since it opened in 1947. As a long-running Ghost Town tradition, the smithy combines live ironwork with an explanation of frontier history. The demonstration gives families a short educational stop between the park’s rides and other attractions.
For this particular group, however, the workshop became the centrepiece of the day. Attendees said the character-themed horseshoe requests filled the blacksmith’s schedule and made it the busiest day of his career.
The story is a reminder that fan communities can create their own events when an official gathering falls through. For more coverage of gaming communities and industry stories, visit RETROCADE’s arcade blog, or explore arcade machines and compact bartop arcades for another way to bring game culture home.
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