The Diving Horse of Steel Pier is now part of Atlantic City's folklore and a bygone era.
Looking back as kids growing up in Atlantic City we took the Steel Pier and it's magical attractions for granted.
But who could blame us? The city had spoiled us rotten.
Beside Steel Pier, there was Million Dollar Pier, Steeplechase Pier, the boardwalk, beach, ocean, bay, Penny Arcades, movies along the boardwalk, horseback riding on the beach, the Miss America Pageant, the Ice Capades, etc.
It was like a fantasy land on steroids.
Steel Pier was billed as the "Showplace of the Nation" and as the advertisements heralded, all of its pleasures could be enjoyed for one low admission.
As Steven J.
Liebowitz states in his excellent book, Steel Pier: Atlantic City Showplace of the Nation, "Nearly every big-name entertainer 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 came in droves from Philadelphia, Camden, Pittsburgh, New York, Newark, Wilmington, Baltimore, throughout the northeast and beyond by train and by car to Steel Pier.
Steel Pier's reputation was so great that A-list performers 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 recall much of my boyhood 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 huge draw because tourists would come from far and wide to witness this spectacular event.
But before you made your way to the end of the pier, you might have spent half the day getting there, in order to view the other attractions there were to enjoy.
The pier boasted two movie theaters, one offering 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 trek along this 1,600 foot (over 500 yards) wonder.
It was S.
O.
P.
to pay a visit to the Diving Bell whether you planned to take the plunge or not.
I must confess this did have an admission, 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 deep sea wonders, the suckers I spoke with usually told me all they saw was mucky water.
Continuing on you'd pass food stands offering a variety of tasty treats.
There were always exhibits on the pier and one I remember vividly was the celebrity horse exhibit, The movie, My Friend Flicka had recently come out and every horse nut like myself rushed to see it.
And then in a short span of time there you were, on the pier, face to nose with the real, bigger than life, Flicka.
Now you were able to live vicariously through Roddy McDowell, the movies star, atop the big sorrel mare riding wildly over hill and dale on the larger than life silver screen.
Later, when Thunderhead Son of Flicka came out in theaters he was also exhibited at the pier.
By now you were on your last leg, and nearing the end of the pier, where many attractions, including the Diving Horse awaited.
But first you had to passed the Marine Ballroom where you'd be treated to the popular bands of the day performing with novice orchestra singers, some who would later become household names, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, etc.
Then a brief stop to look in and watch the boy girl couples trying out their latest dance moves.
We didn't linger since we weren't interested in that cornball stuff.
Finally, the end of the pier.
It was constructed like a circus with raised bleachers for the audience.
In between that section and the piers end, that served as a stage, where all the acts performed, was a large opening over the ocean separating these two sections.
The diving act would execute all their various routines from high platforms into the ocean from a height of 65 feet.
The clowns would perform comical dives from pier height diving boards into the ocean.
The shows had stated times so the audience would arrive all at once and the bleachers would fill quickly.
Before you knew it there was a frenetic potpourri of horses running around rings, with circus riders doing tricks on their backs.
Their were clowns running crazily around the end of the stage, each trying to out antic the other.
High wire acts were spinning and twisting high above the ocean, while the aforementioned diving act executed a series of difficult contortions from the high platforms.
This all took place within minutes to show us what a treat we were in for.
Then the acts would perform, one at a time, as the audience thrillingly took in the various routines.
Of course audiences were totally captivated by this entertainment assault on their senses, but most had come to see the Diving Horse and were waiting with patient anticipation for that moment to arrive.
And arrive it did! With the requisite drum roll came the announcement that the Diving Horse act was about to begin.
The female rider would enter the arena in a flowing cape with that little skip run they so endearingly captivated us with.
She would move toward the platform, remove her cape and don her helmet.
A groom would enter with her horse and together horse and rider would climb the walkway to the high platform.
Once they were at the top the rider would walk the horse to the edge of the platform and urge him, without forcing him, to make the leap.
The horse would almost always hesitate wanting to get his bearings and jumping in his own good time.
As he started to creep further over the edge of the platform, the crowd would collectively lean forward in anticipation.
Finally as the horse made his leap a startled gasp would escape the audience and then again as that huge animal hit the water.
Both rider and horse would emerge triumphantly to the cheers of the crowd, shaking their heads in wonder at what they'd just witnessed.
Perhaps a little background on how the diving horses got started is in order.
The first woman to ever dive from a tower on horseback was a young girl named Sonora Webster Carver.
She had a different way of mounting the horse.
During that time, they let the horse run up the steep walkway by itself, where Sonora waiting on a platform, at the top, would leap on to the horses back as he passed.
And in a full run, both horse and rider would plunge the 25 to forty feet into the tank below.
In 1924, she made history when she plummeted 40 feet on horseback into a tank of water.
The stunt was first performed by W.
F.
"Doc" Carver, who would become her father in law.
In 1931, Sonora Carver went blind from detached retinas suffered after one of the horses, Red Lips, went into a steep nosedive during her performance, sending Carver face-first into the water.
Sonora performed for many years after the accident with audiences having no knowledge of her blindness.
She continued to ride up until World War II.
She died on September 23, 2003, at the age of 99.
Sonora was the inspiration for the delightful 1991 Disney movie, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, which is the story of the Diving Horse.
Their were many other women to ride the famous horses after Sonora, and this amazingly popular spectacle endured from 1898 until 1942, The diving horses were a popular attraction at the pier before being discontinued in the 1970s after complaints from animal-rights activists.
But Carver insisted that the horses loved the dives and were not forced to jump, as stated by Atlantic City historian Allen Pergament.
All the folks who had been part of this wonderful entertainment also claimed the horses were always treated with the utmost care and really enjoyed diving, but in the end the naysayers had 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 the Animal Rights Activists had their way and the idea was discarded.
Looking back as kids growing up in Atlantic City we took the Steel Pier and it's magical attractions for granted.
But who could blame us? The city had spoiled us rotten.
Beside Steel Pier, there was Million Dollar Pier, Steeplechase Pier, the boardwalk, beach, ocean, bay, Penny Arcades, movies along the boardwalk, horseback riding on the beach, the Miss America Pageant, the Ice Capades, etc.
It was like a fantasy land on steroids.
Steel Pier was billed as the "Showplace of the Nation" and as the advertisements heralded, all of its pleasures could be enjoyed for one low admission.
As Steven J.
Liebowitz states in his excellent book, Steel Pier: Atlantic City Showplace of the Nation, "Nearly every big-name entertainer 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 came in droves from Philadelphia, Camden, Pittsburgh, New York, Newark, Wilmington, Baltimore, throughout the northeast and beyond by train and by car to Steel Pier.
Steel Pier's reputation was so great that A-list performers 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 recall much of my boyhood 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 huge draw because tourists would come from far and wide to witness this spectacular event.
But before you made your way to the end of the pier, you might have spent half the day getting there, in order to view the other attractions there were to enjoy.
The pier boasted two movie theaters, one offering 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 trek along this 1,600 foot (over 500 yards) wonder.
It was S.
O.
P.
to pay a visit to the Diving Bell whether you planned to take the plunge or not.
I must confess this did have an admission, 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 deep sea wonders, the suckers I spoke with usually told me all they saw was mucky water.
Continuing on you'd pass food stands offering a variety of tasty treats.
There were always exhibits on the pier and one I remember vividly was the celebrity horse exhibit, The movie, My Friend Flicka had recently come out and every horse nut like myself rushed to see it.
And then in a short span of time there you were, on the pier, face to nose with the real, bigger than life, Flicka.
Now you were able to live vicariously through Roddy McDowell, the movies star, atop the big sorrel mare riding wildly over hill and dale on the larger than life silver screen.
Later, when Thunderhead Son of Flicka came out in theaters he was also exhibited at the pier.
By now you were on your last leg, and nearing the end of the pier, where many attractions, including the Diving Horse awaited.
But first you had to passed the Marine Ballroom where you'd be treated to the popular bands of the day performing with novice orchestra singers, some who would later become household names, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, etc.
Then a brief stop to look in and watch the boy girl couples trying out their latest dance moves.
We didn't linger since we weren't interested in that cornball stuff.
Finally, the end of the pier.
It was constructed like a circus with raised bleachers for the audience.
In between that section and the piers end, that served as a stage, where all the acts performed, was a large opening over the ocean separating these two sections.
The diving act would execute all their various routines from high platforms into the ocean from a height of 65 feet.
The clowns would perform comical dives from pier height diving boards into the ocean.
The shows had stated times so the audience would arrive all at once and the bleachers would fill quickly.
Before you knew it there was a frenetic potpourri of horses running around rings, with circus riders doing tricks on their backs.
Their were clowns running crazily around the end of the stage, each trying to out antic the other.
High wire acts were spinning and twisting high above the ocean, while the aforementioned diving act executed a series of difficult contortions from the high platforms.
This all took place within minutes to show us what a treat we were in for.
Then the acts would perform, one at a time, as the audience thrillingly took in the various routines.
Of course audiences were totally captivated by this entertainment assault on their senses, but most had come to see the Diving Horse and were waiting with patient anticipation for that moment to arrive.
And arrive it did! With the requisite drum roll came the announcement that the Diving Horse act was about to begin.
The female rider would enter the arena in a flowing cape with that little skip run they so endearingly captivated us with.
She would move toward the platform, remove her cape and don her helmet.
A groom would enter with her horse and together horse and rider would climb the walkway to the high platform.
Once they were at the top the rider would walk the horse to the edge of the platform and urge him, without forcing him, to make the leap.
The horse would almost always hesitate wanting to get his bearings and jumping in his own good time.
As he started to creep further over the edge of the platform, the crowd would collectively lean forward in anticipation.
Finally as the horse made his leap a startled gasp would escape the audience and then again as that huge animal hit the water.
Both rider and horse would emerge triumphantly to the cheers of the crowd, shaking their heads in wonder at what they'd just witnessed.
Perhaps a little background on how the diving horses got started is in order.
The first woman to ever dive from a tower on horseback was a young girl named Sonora Webster Carver.
She had a different way of mounting the horse.
During that time, they let the horse run up the steep walkway by itself, where Sonora waiting on a platform, at the top, would leap on to the horses back as he passed.
And in a full run, both horse and rider would plunge the 25 to forty feet into the tank below.
In 1924, she made history when she plummeted 40 feet on horseback into a tank of water.
The stunt was first performed by W.
F.
"Doc" Carver, who would become her father in law.
In 1931, Sonora Carver went blind from detached retinas suffered after one of the horses, Red Lips, went into a steep nosedive during her performance, sending Carver face-first into the water.
Sonora performed for many years after the accident with audiences having no knowledge of her blindness.
She continued to ride up until World War II.
She died on September 23, 2003, at the age of 99.
Sonora was the inspiration for the delightful 1991 Disney movie, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, which is the story of the Diving Horse.
Their were many other women to ride the famous horses after Sonora, and this amazingly popular spectacle endured from 1898 until 1942, The diving horses were a popular attraction at the pier before being discontinued in the 1970s after complaints from animal-rights activists.
But Carver insisted that the horses loved the dives and were not forced to jump, as stated by Atlantic City historian Allen Pergament.
All the folks who had been part of this wonderful entertainment also claimed the horses were always treated with the utmost care and really enjoyed diving, but in the end the naysayers had 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 the Animal Rights Activists had their way and the idea was discarded.
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