rockefeller center Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 (edited) There was this horse in Atlantic City that jumped (on its own free will, of course) from about 30ft in a pool (it also appeared in a Simpsons episode). I'm looking for footage of one of this jumps. If you can help, please send private message. Thanks! Edited December 30, 2003 by rockefeller center Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vajerzy Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 The diving horse on the Steel Pier......I've seen it a number of times when I was a kid, growing up at the Jersey Shore.....I have pictures and a friend has a VHS of the horse.....I'll see what the name of the VHS tape is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockefeller center Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 vajerzy, thanks very much for your help! Can you scan one of your pictures and maybe upload it here? I am thrilled! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockefeller center Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 (edited) Edited December 30, 2003 by rockefeller center Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vajerzy Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Not for a day or so- everything is at home.... I went to Steel Pier in the 1960s.....ages 5-7 or so....the pictures you scanned capture it very well.....looks to be during the 40s or so by the 48 star flag. I remember the Grand Ballroom where *everyone* played: Sinatra, Benny Goodman, etc. and the Diving Bell.... Here's something I found from the Press of Atlantic City: Q: Whatever happened to Sonora Carver, the first diving-horse girl on the Steel Pier? Answer Guy: Sonora Webster Carver is still alive and relatively well at 98. She lives in a nursing home in Atlantic County. Her horse-diving career began when Sonora Webster and her sister Arnette responded to one of "Doc" William F. Carver's help-wanted ads. Carver invented the diving horse act and needed young women who were willing to ride horses that plunged 40 feet into a water tank. Sonora was 20 when she joined the show. Carver soon brought the act to the Steel Pier in 1921. Sonora took the Carver name when she married his son, Al. Sonora lost her eyesight in 1931, in a freak accident. Her horse landed badly, Sonora's face smacked the water and her already weak retinas detached. But by the spring of 1932, she was diving with horses again. She later told The Press that diving blind felt exactly the same as diving with sight - but she had a hard time finding her way out of the tank. She learned to read Braille, a difficult feat for someone who lost her sight as an adult. In 1942 the diving-horse act temporarily stopped, because of the war. The act resumed later, but Sonora chose to stay retired. Her sister, Arnette Webster French, rode diving horses for about 5 years. She died in 2000 at age 87. But Sonora, the woman who inspired the 1991 movie "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken," is still upbeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robviti Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Sonora lost her eyesight in 1931, in a freak accident. Her horse landed badly, Sonora's face smacked the water and her already weak retinas detached. "freak accicent?" the whole idea of sending a horse off a pier like that seems utterly freakish and abhorrent to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vajerzy Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Putting aside the whole debate of whether it's humane or not, it was certainly a site to see......jumping from that height on a horse, let alone jumping by ones self was incredible.....the pool was deep enough so the horse wasn't injured and it climbed out somehow......all the piers in Atlantic City tried to outdo each other, and I guess this was the featured attraction at Steel Pier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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