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| Diving Horses | |
 A 1923 video record of a horse diving from a 60 ft platform at the USA. | |
| A mid-1960s 8mm film of two mules diving from a platform. |
A diving horse is an attraction that was popular in North America in the mid-1880s, [1] in which a horse would dive into a pool of water, sometimes from as high as 60 feet. [2]
William "Doc" Carver "invented" horse-diving exhibitions. Allegedly, in 1881 Carver was crossing a bridge over Platte River (Nebraska) which partially collapsed. His horse fell/dived into the waters below, inspiring Carver to develop the diving horse act. Carver trained various animals and went on tour. His son, Al Floyd Carver, constructed the ramp and tower and Lorena Carver was the first rider. Sonora Webster joined the show in 1924. She later married Al Floyd Carver. The show became a permanent fixture at Atlantic City's popular venue Steel Pier. There, Sonora, Al and Lorena continued the show following his death.
In 1931, Sonora and her horse Red Lips lost their balance on the platform. Sonora survived the fall, but was blinded due to detached retinas in both eyes as a result of keeping her eyes open. She continued horse-diving while blind. A film based on her life, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken , was released in 1991 and was based on her memoir A Girl and Five Brave Horses . [3]
In Lake George, New York, the Magic Forest theme park hosted a diving horse feature beginning in 1977, originally featuring a horse named Rex, later replaced by a gelding named Lightning. The manager stated, "There is no rider, no prods, no electrical jolts, and no trap doors." [4] The theme park was purchased in 2018 [5] and re-opened as Lake George Expedition Park, without horse diving.
A horse-diving show was an in-residence act held at New Jersey's Steel Pier. Pressure from animal-rights activists and declining demand led to the act being shuttered in the 1970s. Although there was a brief resumption of the act at the pier in 1993, it was again shut down amid opposition. [1] [6] The horses sometimes dived four times a day, seven days a week. [2] An attempt in 2012 to revive the shows at Steel Pier was halted when animal-welfare advocates petitioned the owners not to hold the shows. The president of the Humane Society of the United States stated: "This is a merciful end to a colossally stupid idea." [7]
Atlantic City's Steel Pier was also used to mount a measuring device (tide gauge) to monitor changes in the sea level of the Atlantic Ocean. However, changes in sea level at the pier turned out to have been caused by the weight of the crowds gathered to watch the diving horses. Measurements from 1929 to 1978 indicated sea level rise – when the crowds were regular and caused the pier to settle slightly in the soft, sandy bottom – except during the horse-jumping hiatus from 1945 to 1953 when the lack of regular crowds allowed the pier to rise slightly. [8]
A carousel or carrousel, merry-go-round (international), roundabout, or hurdy-gurdy is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The "seats" are traditionally in the form of rows of wooden horses or other animals mounted on posts, many of which are moved up and down by gears to simulate galloping, to the accompaniment of looped circus music.
The Jersey Shore is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about 141 miles (227 km) of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Point in the south. The region includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May counties, which are in the central and southern parts of the state. Located in the center of the Northeast Megalopolis, the northern half of the shore region is part of the New York metropolitan area, while the southern half of the shore region is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as the Delaware Valley. The Jersey Shore hosts the highest concentration of oceanside boardwalks in the United States.
Pacific Ocean Park was a 28-acre (11-hectare) nautical-themed amusement park built on a pier at Pier Avenue in the Ocean Park section of Santa Monica, California in 1958. Intended to compete with Disneyland, it replaced Ocean Park Pier (1926-1956). After it closed and fell into disrepair, the park and pier anchored the Dogtown area of Santa Monica.
The Steel Pier is a 1,000-foot-long (300 m) amusement park built on a pier of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, across from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. Built in 1897 and opened in 1898, it was one of the most popular venues in the United States for the first seven decades of the twentieth century, featuring concerts, exhibits, and an amusement park. It billed itself as the Showplace of the Nation and at its peak measured 2,298 feet (700 m).
Landry's, Inc., is an American, privately owned, multi-brand dining, hospitality, entertainment, and gaming corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas. Landry's, Inc. owns and operates more than 600 restaurants, hotels, casinos, and entertainment destinations in 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The company also owns and operates numerous international locations. The company is owned by President & CEO Tilman Fertitta.
William Frank "Doc" Carver was a late 19th-century sharpshooter and the creator of a popular diving horse attraction.
Hunt seat is a style of forward seat riding commonly found in North American horse shows. Along with dressage, it is one of the two classic forms of English riding. The hunt seat is based on the tradition of fox hunting. Hunt seat competition in North America includes both flat and over fences for show hunters, which judge the horse's movement and form, and equitation classes, which judge the rider's ability both on the flat and over fences. The term hunt seat may also refer to any form of forward seat riding, including the kind seen in show jumping and eventing.
The events of Revelation are the events that occur in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament. An outline follows below, chapter by chapter.
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken is a 1991 American drama film directed by Steve Miner. It concerns Sonora Webster Carver, a rider of diving horses. Gabrielle Anwar stars as Carver alongside Michael Schoeffling and Cliff Robertson. It is based on events in her life as told in her memoir A Girl and Five Brave Horses.
Sonora Webster Carver, was an American entertainer, most notable as one of the first female horse divers.
Horseland is an American animated series produced by DIC Entertainment. It is a comic mischief program following events in the lives of a group of children riding at Horseland, an equestrian school and stables. Their adventures include riding their horses and entering them in competitions to test their skill and friendships. The show premiered on September 16, 2006, as part of CBS's new Saturday morning cartoon block, KOL Secret Slumber Party on CBS later KEWLopolis. Concurrent with the series, the online virtual pet game that it was based upon was updated to complement the show by launching a new "Junior version" of the game based on the program and featuring its various characters and locations. After three seasons, the show was canceled on CBS on December 6, 2008. Reruns of Horseland then aired nationwide on the digital subchannel This TV; two episodes aired each weekend until September 2010. Horseland last aired as part of Cookie Jar TV on CBS. It has 7 books for the series related to the episodes which are available to be purchased online.
Nicole Uphoff is a German equestrian who competes in the sport of dressage. She won four gold medals in individual and team competition at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics. Riding her star horse, Rembrandt, Uphoff also won numerous other international competitions, including the World Equestrian Games and the European Dressage Championships.
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A Girl and Five Brave Horses is a memoir by Sonora Webster Carver published in 1961.
Georgina Leigh Bloomberg is the owner of the equestrian team New York Empire, a professional equestrian, and a philanthropist. She is the daughter of Susan Brown and Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City and founder of Bloomberg LP.
Mexican ironwood carving is a Mexican tradition of carving the wood of the Olneya tesota tree, a Sonora Desert tree commonly called ironwood.
Mamie Francis Hafley (1885–1950), born Elba Mae Ghent, was a performer in Wild West shows and rodeos from about 1901 until 1940. She was famous for her daring horse-diving act that involved jumping off a 50-foot tower into a pool of water, for her sharpshooting ability from the back of a galloping horse, and for her high school horse-riding acts.
Danielle "Dani" Goldstein-Waldman is an American-Israeli show jumper. In July 2019 Goldstein, as part of Israel's four-rider squad, qualified to represent Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Albert Edward 'Bert' Powsey (1866–1956), known professionally as Professor Powsey, was a British high diver active between 1900 and 1941.
Vicki Gold Levi is an American author, curator, historical consultant and collector. She is best known as an Atlantic City, New Jersey historian and a consultant on the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire, and the 1997 musical Steel Pier.