The mane attraction, 1920s-style: Incredible pictures show horses - and their brave riders - jumping off platforms twice the height of Olympic diving board into just 12 feet of water
- Horse diving developed in America in the early part of the 20th century
- Stunt saw a woman launching her horse off a 40 or 60 foot platform
- The horse and the rider would then land in a pool of water just 12 feet deep
- Became one of the most popular attractions in Atlantic City in the 1920s
- Amazingly, despite animal welfare concerns, stunt continued until 1978
As
death-defying stunts go, hurling yourself off a 60-foot high platform on
the back of the horse into just 12 feet of water must surely be up
there with one of the most insane.
But
back in 1920s Atlantic City, launching a horse off a platform almost
twice the height of a 10 metre Olympic diving board was a daily
occurrence.
What's more, the ability to do it well could win you fame.
Unbelievable: The horses plummeted off 40 or 60 foot high platforms into 12 feet of water
Death-defying: The stunt had gained popularity in the state circuses which traveled America
Star attraction: But it was when it arrived in Atlantic City in the late 1920s that the stunt really took off
The
amazing act was just one of the shows on offer at Atlantic City's Steel
Pier, which opened in 1898 and was once America's most famous amusement
attraction.
Diving horse arrived on the pier in the 1920s, having become a fixture of travelling circuses previously.
It
would go on to become the star attraction at Steel Pier, with crowds
gathering to marvel at the dangerous feat as the horse flew off the end
of 40 and 60 foot platforms.
Annette French, who dove horses from 1928 until 1935, throwing herself off the platform two to six times a day, told the New York Times in 2008: 'We were the stars of the Boardwalk.
'Everybody had to see the diving horse. That was what everybody remembered.
'We were a class act.'
Glamorous: The rider would don a swimming costume before jumping the horse off the platform
Safe: Those who dove horses maintain it was safe - with only a few broken bones a year
Well-kept: Horse diver Annette French said the animals 'lived the life of Riley' and it was not cruel
Mrs
French's sister Sonora Webster Carver was arguably the best-known of
the horse divers, whose story was immortalized in the 1991 Disney film
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken.
She took her first dive aged just 15, in 1923, and became one of the best in the business.
But
in 1931, her career could have come to a premature end, when she was
blinded after a knock to the head which detached her retinas.
Ms Carver was not about to stop, however: she dove horses for another 11 years, while unable to see.
Fame: The best-known horse diver was Sonora Webster Carver, who had a Disney film made about her life
History: Amazingly, you could still see horse diving as recently as 1978
The
trick to surviving the falls, according to those in the know, was to
tuck your head down one side as the horse plunged towards the water
below.
It
is claimed the riders only suffered a few broken bones each year, while
Mrs French told the New York Times the horses were so well looked after
they 'lived the life of Riley'.
However,
despite animal protection officers were concerned about the act, it
continued until 1978 - when the pier had fallen into such a state of
disrepair it had to be shut.
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