Diving horse

Diving horse
A diving horse in Toronto

A diving horse is an attraction that was popular in the mid 1880s,[1] in which a horse would dive into a pool of water, sometimes from as high as 60 feet up.[2]

Contents

History

William "Doc" Carver "invented" the idea of 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 Carver constructed the ramp and tower and his daughter Lorena Carver was the first rider. Sonora Webster Carver, William "Doc" Carver's daughter-in-law, joined the show in 1924. The show became a permanent fixture at Atlantic City's very popular venue, Steel Pier. There, Doc Carver's daughters and daughter-in-law continued the show following his death.

In 1931, Sonora Webster Carver and her horse "Red Lips" lost their balance on the platform. Sonora survived the fall, but was blinded (caused by detached retinas in both eyes). She continued horse-diving while blind. In 1991, Disney released a film titled Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken based on Webster's life and her memoir A Girl and Five Brave Horses.

Animal rights

The shows received very strong criticisms of animal rights abuses, which contributed to the decline of its popularity after World War 2.[1] The horses sometimes dove four times a day, seven days a week.[2] There are allegations of using prods, electrical jolts, and trap doors to get unwilling horses to dive.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b The Great Carver Show, Jumper, Diving Horse, and Sonora Webster the Horse Jumper
  2. ^ a b Dedicated to The Diving Horses
  3. ^ Rex the Diving Horse, Lake George, New York

External links

Images


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Horse behavior — is best understood from the perspective that horses are prey animals with a well developed fight or flight instinct. Their first response to a threat is to flee, although they are known to stand their ground and defend themselves or their… …   Wikipedia

  • Horse Under Water — (1963, ISBN 0 399 10419 4) is the second of Len Deighton s spy novels featuring an anonymous British agent protagonist (named Harry Palmer in the film adaptions). It was followed by Funeral in Berlin .The novel is set in 1960, mostly in a small… …   Wikipedia

  • Buddy diving — A Navy buddy diver team checking their gauges together Buddy diving is the use of t …   Wikipedia

  • Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken — Infobox Film name = Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken caption = DVD Cover director = Steve Miner producer = writer = Matt Williams Oley Sassone starring = Gabrielle Anwar Michael Schoeffling music = Mason Daring cinematography = Daryn Okada editing =… …   Wikipedia

  • William Frank Carver — Dr. W. F. Carver William Frank Doc Carver (May 7, 1851 – Aug. 31, 1927) was a late 19th century sharpshooter and creator of a popular diving horse attraction. He was born at Winslow, Illinois, to William Daniel Carver, a physician, and Deborah… …   Wikipedia

  • Deep Eddy Pool — U.S. National Register of Historic Places …   Wikipedia

  • James H. White — est un producteur, directeur de la photographie, réalisateur et acteur canadien né le mars 1872 en Nouvelle Écosse (Canada), décédé en 1944. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Filmographie 2.1 comme producteur …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Saddlesore Galactica — Infobox Simpsons episode episode name = Saddlesore Galactica image caption= Bart riding Duncan (a.k.a Furious D). episode no = 239 prod code = BABF09 airdate = February 6, 2000 show runner = Mike Scully writer = Tim Long director = Lance Kramer… …   Wikipedia

  • Steel Pier — The Steel Pier is a 1,000 foot long amusement pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is located opposite The Boardwalk from Trump Taj Mahal. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) gives these geographic coordinates for Steel Pier: Latitude 39°, 21… …   Wikipedia

  • Welham Girls School — Infobox School2 name = Welham Girls School | motto = Artha shanti phala vidya ( The aim of education is to bring peace ) established = type = Boarding head name = Principal head = city = Dehradun state = Uttarakhand country = India campus =… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”