The Diving Horses of Atlantic City

The diving horses performed at Atlantic City's Steel Pier in the 1920s and 1930s.  The horse would jump into a tank of water, typically with a young woman riding on its back.
Some dove with their front legs straight out, while others tucked up their legs as if they were going over a jump.  One horse would twist in the air and land on his side, making it dangerous for his rider.

‘The riders (all women) would suffer one or two broken bones a year.  Most of the injuries came from getting out of the pool of paddling hooves. They made it look easy, but it wasn’t.  Years ago a rider by the name of Sonora Carver (in the late 1920’s) went blind from a bad impact with the water.  The jump was sixty feet at that time, but was then lowered to forty.

‘Another horse, I think his name was Patches, drew quite an audience.  After making so many jumps he no longer waited for his rider.  He would charge up the ramp to the tower and take a running jump off the diving board, leaving the rider behind.  A couple of the girls tried to leap on him as he flew by, only to be left sailing through the air mount-less.

Further details and additional photos at the http://www.petticoated.com/pdqwinter04/otherdocs/divinghorsesW04.html, via ty.rannosaur.us.

Comments (25)

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Newest 5 Comments

um well i have a horse my self so i now what i the limits are on him. while if a horse was forced to do that it wouldn't run up the ramp like they do because they would need to beat it every time. with horses we use them with so many thing because just see it has this way would you think that its animal crulety riding a horse well why do they even let us sit on there backs. people think they come to us for protection and over years there have learnt to trust us.
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I saw the diving horses in Atlantic City. No, they don't beat the horses. In fact, if they didn't want to go they wouldn't go. Fact is I've never seen a horse refuse to jump. I'm not saying none did, but I never saw any refuse to jump.
Horses are pretty smart. I recall General Meade's horse, Old Baldy, was wounded 7 times during the Americn Civil War, including at Gettysburg. One day Old Baldy refused to go into battle. Meade retired Old Baldy and both Old Baldy and Traveller, General Robert E Lee's horse, out lived both Generals. Don't cut horses short. After all, where do you think the phrase, "Horse Sense" came from?
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I've grown up around horses. I've been riding as long as i can remember and i can agree with the statement that a horse has a mind of its own and will do nothing it doesn't want to no matter what you do. theses horses were probably scared the first few times they did it but grew to love it. I highly doubt they were beat until they did dive. People who have never been around horses just need to be quite they just sound like complete idiots to us that have and know about horses. Just because you can read a book doesn't mean your an expert on these animals.
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well i say that if they didn't wont to jump off of the ramp they wouldn't of done so and animals have minds to if they didn't wont to they wouldn't of and i have 2 horses and they both have mind of there own and i would not force them to do any thing they wouldn't wont to do and to all of u have a good day

farm boy cowboy up
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okay, so recently read an autobiography on one of the girls that dived with the horses. the horses were never beaten, never harmed. forced sometimes at first, yes. but never hurt. the horses they used were handpicked from all over the country, and if the horse just really did not want to dive, they had to sell it and find another that was okay with diving. but the horses that dived loved doing it. there was even one that would run up the ramp and not wait for its partner, and dive alone. believe me, it was not like diving into an abyss. the horses enjoyed what they did.
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Fathers who lose their chicks are just as likely to have the same behaviour. In the end, it comes down to the biological need to be a parent, not the sexuality.
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Have you ever seen the movie March of the Penguins? The penguins whose babies didn't make it were trying to lure baby penguins from their parent. This often lead to a big fight where all the penguins in the area would try to get the baby back. I'm not surprised the males do it, they take care of the babies just as much as the mothers, so the instinct is strong.
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'despite being gay the three year old male birds are still driven by an urge to be dads.'

This is no different in humans.

(Well, except being older than 3... and I'm guessing most humans would not steal children.)
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I wonder if someone asked them if they were gay, or if they came out themselves...

My dog will hump pillows, legs, male dogs, you name it.

Does that make him gay too?

I love the new politically correct world. It makes reality a lot more funny.
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@Kevin

The last thing I am is PC. However, there are roughly 900 species that engage in clear homosexual and bisexual behavior.

As for your dog, humping is a dominance behavior for them, and not a gay one. They do not fall in with Bonobo apes, certain species of birds (including penguins), dolphins, etc...

It isn't PC to accept homosexuality. PC is an ugly concept that encourages hypocrisy. It's just a matter of not treating others as though they are somehow second class citizens for living their life in a way that doesn't conform to your world view.
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Um..infanticide is "natural" for bonobos but that doesn't mean its moral for people to engage in it, despite what abortion murderers say!

Homosexuality has always been, and should always be, considered immoral! God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and steve!
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Oh, and just to add because I hit "submit" too soon. There are plenty of cultures that think it moral to engage in certain acts of infanticide. Have you read the PNG tribe post?

For the record, I am not gay, nor do I kill babies, but neither do I feel that my beliefs, lifestyle, or morality is the only one that matters, which is exactly what is wrong with this supposedly moral anti-homosexual stance, which I am starting to believe comes from an overwhelming secret desire to see what goes on behind someone else's closed door and direct the action. Believe what you want, it's your right, but don't force it on others. That's what Iran is there for.
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"There are plenty of cultures that think it moral to engage in certain acts of infanticide."

It doesn't matter what they "THINK"...It matters what IS moral or not!

Infanticide is immoral. Homosexuality is immoral. Murder is immoral. All are "natural".
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Praises, obviously, holds the gold standard of what IS moral and what ISN'T.

I think your God hates bigots more than he does a couple of boys or girls in love.
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@jiggles

LOL. Well put.

Bigots chap my hide, especially when they hide behind religion.

And putting homosexuality on the same level as infanticide truly exposes the ignorance.
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THERE ARE NO UNIVERSAL MORAL VALUES.

i'm sorry. there just arent.

i suppose this would be a universal moral value (that there arent any), but im okay with that flaw in my logic.
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