The Steel Pier Diving Horse
The Diving Horse of Steel Pier is now a part of Atlantic City folklore and a bygone era.
When we were growing up in Atlantic City, we took Steel Pier and its magical attractions for granted. But who could blame us? The city had spoiled us.
Next to Steel Pier, there was Million Dollar Pier, Steeplechase Pier, the boardwalk, the beach, the ocean, the bay, Penny Arcades, movies along the boardwalk, horseback riding on the beach, the Miss America pageant, Ice Capades, etc. . It was like fantasy land on steroids.
Steel Pier was billed as the “nation’s showplace” and, as advertised, all its delights could be enjoyed for one low admission.
As Steven J. Liebowitz states in his excellent book, Steel Pier: Atlantic City Showplace of the Nation, “Almost every big name artist, from John Philip Sousa and his band to Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra and The Rolling Stones, played there. Steel Pier was a combination of Broadway, Miami, Las Vegas, Hollywood, Barnum and Bailey and a state fair. Crowds poured in from Philadelphia, Camden, Pittsburgh, New York, Newark, Wilmington, Baltimore, throughout the Northeast and beyond by train and car to Steel Pier. Steel Pier’s reputation was so big that A-list artists chose the Pier over other venues”.
The first time I went to Steel Pier was in 1940, I was seven years old and admission was twenty-five cents. I don’t remember much of my childhood at that age, but going to Steel Pier is something I’ve never forgotten.
One of the biggest attractions was the Diving Horse at the end of the pier. It was a great attraction because tourists from all over would come to witness this spectacular event. But before you get to the end of the pier, you may have spent half a day getting there to see what other attractions there were to enjoy.
The pier featured two movie theaters, one featuring a vaudeville show and featuring “Tony Grants Stars of Tomorrow”, a local dance troupe of young girls with visions of future stardom.
After a few enjoyable hours of entertainment, you continued your walk along this 1,600-foot wonder (more than 500 yards). Was POE to pay a visit to the Diving Bell whether you were planning to take the plunge or not. I must confess that this had an entry, I think it was 10 cents. I never went on the diving bell because even though it was promoted as an attraction where you would witness all kinds of wonders in the deep sea, the idiots I talked to usually told me that all they saw was dirty water.
Continuing on, you would pass food stalls offering a variety of delicacies. There were always exhibits on the pier and one I remember vividly was the celebrity horse exhibit, the movie, my friend flick it had recently come out and every crazy person like me rushed to see it. And then, within a short span of time, there you were, on the dock, face to face with the real, larger than life, Flicka. Now you could live vicariously through Roddy McDowell, the movie star, about the big sorrel mare riding wild over hills and valleys on the larger-than-life silver screen. Later, when Thunderhead Son of Flicka It came out in theaters and was also shown on the boardwalk.
You were already on your last leg and were approaching the end of the pier, where many attractions awaited you, including the Diving Horse. But first you had to stop by the Marine Ballroom where you would be treated to the popular bands of the day performing with rookie band singers, some who would later become household names, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, etc. Then a brief stop to look inside and watch the boy and girl pairs try out their latest dance moves. We didn’t linger as we weren’t interested in it. corn ball stuff.
Finally, the end of the pier. It was built as a circus with raised stands for the public. Between that section and the end of the docks, which served as the stage, where all the acts took place, there was a large opening onto the ocean that separated these two sections. The diving act would execute all of their various routines from high platforms out into the ocean from a height of 65 feet. Clowns performed comical dives from dock-height diving boards into the ocean.
The shows had set times so that the public arrived at once and the stands filled up quickly. Before you knew it, there was a frantic medley of horses racing around the rings, with circus riders performing tricks on their backs. They were clowns running around the end of the stage like mad, each trying to fool the other. The tightrope acts twisted and twisted high above the ocean, while the aforementioned diving act executed a series of difficult contortions from the high platforms. All this took place in a matter of minutes to show us the pleasure that awaited us. The acts would then perform, one at a time, as the audience excitedly watched the various routines.
Of course, the audience was totally captivated by this entertaining assault on their senses, but most had come to see the Diving Horse and waited with patient anticipation for that moment to arrive.
And get there he did! With the requisite drum roll came the announcement that the Diving Horse act was about to begin. The Amazon entered the arena with a floating cape and that little jump with which we were so affectionately captivated. She would move to the platform, remove her cloak, and put on her helmet. A groom entered with his horse and together horse and rider mounted the gangplank to the high platform.
Once at the top, the rider would lead the horse to the edge of the platform and encourage it, without forcing it, to take the leap. The horse would almost always hesitate to want to orient itself and jump in its own time. As he began to slide further over the edge of the platform, the crowd collectively leaned forward in anticipation. Finally, as the horse made its leap, a gasp escaped the audience, and then again as that huge animal hit the water. Both rider and horse would emerge triumphant to the cheers of the crowd, shaking their heads in amazement at what they had just witnessed.
Perhaps a bit of information is needed on how diving horses got their start. The first woman to dive from a tower on horseback was a young woman named Sonora Webster Carver. She had a different way of riding the horse. During that time, they let the horse go up the steep walkway alone, where Sonora, waiting on a platform at the top, would jump on the horses’ backs as she passed. And in a full race, both horse and rider would plunge 25 to 12 meters into the tank below.
In 1924, he made history when he plunged 40 feet from horseback into a water tank. The stunt was first performed by WF “Doc” Carver, who would become his father-in-law. In 1931, Sonora Carver was blinded by a detached retina he suffered after one of the horses, Red Lips, plummeted during his performance, sending Carver face-first into the water. Sonora performed for many years after the accident with audiences unaware of his blindness. He continued to ride until World War II. He died on September 23, 2003, at the age of 99. Sonora was the inspiration for the delightful 1991 Disney film, Wild hearts can’t be broken which is the story of the Jumping Horse.
There were many other women who rode the famous horses after Sonora, and this incredibly popular show lasted from 1898 to 1942. The diving horses were a popular attraction on the pier before being discontinued in the 1970s after complaints from the animal rights activists. But Carver insisted that the horses loved dips and were not forced to jump, as Atlantic City historian Allen Pergament claimed. All the people who had been a part of this wonderful entertainment also stated that the horses were always treated with the utmost care and they really enjoyed diving, but in the end the naysayers got their way and the act was disbanded.
More recently, with the revival of the Steel Pier, it was planned to bring the Diving Horses back, but once again, animal rights activists got their way and the idea was scrapped.