Diving Horse Shows Were One Of The Most Unusual And Controversial Forms Of Entertainment In The Late 19th Century
During the late 19th century, one of the most unusual and controversial forms of entertainment spread throughout America—diving horse shows.
These spectacles were filled with thrilling but dangerous stunts that involved horses diving off high platforms into pools of water.
For decades, audiences were captivated by the performances, although concerns were also raised about animal welfare and safety.
The man behind the tradition of horse diving is William “Doc” Carver. He worked as a buffalo hunter for the United States government as part of an effort to slaughter tens of millions of bison in an attempt to get Native Americans under control.
Before he came up with the diving horse shows, Carver was already well-known for his marksmanship skills. He was also the type who liked to embellish things.
For instance, one of the first things he ever lied about was his date of birth. He claimed to have been born in 1840, but records show that he was born in 1861.
In addition, he concocted a story about his family being attacked by “Indians.” He managed to escape and was raised by Indians.
His marksmanship, combined with his larger-than-life personality, led him to join Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Shows.
The acts consisted of live bison, costumed cowboys, and Native Americans shooting blanks at each other. Eventually, Carver tried to start his own Wild West show.
In the 1880s, he introduced the idea of having a horse jump off an elevated platform into a shallow pool. According to legend, Carver was crossing a bridge over the Platte River in Nebraska in 1881 when it collapsed, causing him and his horse to fall into the river.
Apparently, the incident inspired him to develop the dangerous attraction that would cement his status in the stunt entertainment industry.
Carver started training horses and riders to complete this stunt. The first rider to try it was Lorena Carver, a young woman who claimed to be Carver’s daughter and then his daughter-in-law.
Like anything to do with Carver, the details were suspicious. Anyway, she became a big hit. When she appeared on the back of a horse in 1906, the crowd went wild.
The most popular rider of diving horses was Sonora Webster Carver. She became one of history’s most iconic diving girls.
Shortly after Carver passed away in 1927, “The Great Carver Show” was held at Atlantic City’s Steel Pier in New Jersey.
The attraction was thrilling for audiences, but some people began to question the level of danger that both the horses and riders were being exposed to.
Broken bones, black eyes, and bloody noses were regular occurrences for the riders. Sometimes, the injuries were more severe.
For instance, Sonora lost her vision when her retina detached in 1931 as she hit the water. She continued to dive blind for another 11 years.
Animal rights activists argued that the repeated dives took a physical and psychological toll on the horses. By the 1970s, the world had moved on from diving horse shows. In 1978, the act at the Steel Pier was eliminated altogether.
In 1993, the Steel Pier replaced horses with mules to try to bring the attraction back to life, but it was quickly shut down. There was another attempt to revive the act in 2012, but public pressure caused the idea to be abandoned.
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