Horse diving was a popular traveling wild show, in which a rider with a horse dive headlong into a pool of water from a platform 40 or above in the air. This risky stunt drew huge crowds where it was performed. The risk was real, both for the horse and rider. On Feb. 17, 1907, 18-year-old rider Oscar Smith was killed in a dive. William “Doc” Carver invented this show in 1881 when a horse riding over a partially collapsed bridge leaped into the river below. Sonora Webster joined Carver’s show in 1924 as a horse jumper, and she married his son. After Craver’s death, they took the show on the road, and it was very successful. In 1931, Sonora was permanently blinded by the impact of the high jump. However, she was not discouraged; her blindness enhanced the show’s spectacle as she continued diving for another decade. The show was eventually shut down in the late 1970s. Take a look at the photos below that show both the training and the actual stunt.
#1 A trained horse dives on a ranch in Plainview, Texas, 1943
#2 A woman walks a diving horse on the beach at Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1953
#3 Training horses to dive was no easy feat of course.
#4 With the help of a tempting carrot, a trainer encourages a horse to dive, 1953
#5 The horse in training receives his reward from a trainer after completing a successful practice dive. 1953.
#6 Dimah the horse ascends the 40-foot ramp to the top of the diving platform. 1953.
#7 Dimah and her rider, Ann Eastham, plunge into the pool after jumping off a diving platform 75-feet-tall. 1960.
They would sometimes perform the stunt six times a day at George Hamid's Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
#8 Diving horses were a popular attraction at the Hanlan’s Point Amusement Park in Toronto, Canada. 1907
#9 A rider leans forward as the horse extends its front legs in preparation to dive.
#10 Horse and rider plunge towards the pool below in Atlantic City. 1969.
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#12 Sonora Carter became one of Atlantic City’s premier entertainers and started in the high-flying sport at just 15 years old.
#13 A diver and horse exit the pool as the crowd looks on. 1977.
#14 A diver poses for a photo with her horse in Atlantic City, 1977.
#15 A large crowd of spectators watch Eunice Padfield and her horse dive from a high tower in Pueblo, Colorado on July 4, 1905.
#16 A postcard from the 1960s, showcasing the Steel Pier’s popular diving horse’s attraction.
#17 Horse and diver descend head-first towards the water below. 1977.
#18 King the horse falls towards the water in this 1909 photo.
#19 A horse takes a practice dive at Atlantic City’s Steel Pier park. 1978.
#20 A rider clings to their horse as the animal makes a near vertical drop into the diving pool. Circa 1940s.
#21 A rider is seen hanging on for dear life as the horse plunges towards the pool below. 1955.
#22 Divers often trained with their horses for years, gradually moving up to higher and more challenging diving platforms.
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#24 A horse with rider fallen into the water.
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