Horses around the country can neigh a sigh of relief.
The owners of Atlantic City's Steel Pier, facing pressure from animal rights groups, have scrapped a plan to bring back the diving horse act that made the boardwalk venue famous for decades.
"Instead of trying to rekindle the past, we're going to preserve history and nostalgia in a new way," said Anthony Catanoso, the Steel Pier's president.
Diving horses began plunging off Steel Pier platforms into pools below in the 1920s. Animal rights groups put an end to the show in the 1970s and again in 1993 when Catanoso briefly brought the horses back.
After presenting the diving horse plan to the New Jersey Casino Redevelopment Authority earlier this month, Catanoso said "a small group of people" began trying to derail the project."
"Our research showed that the show would have been perfectly fine," he said. "There were more people who wanted to see the act."
But Kathleen Schatzmann, New Jersey state director for the Humane Society of the United States, said animal rights groups were mobilizing across the country to stop the proposal. A Facebook group called "Horses don't fly in A.C." celebrated their victory.
"We are very excited that the owners are doing right by the horses," Schatzmann said. "It's such an unnatural feat for these animals and puts them in harm."
Schatzmann said diving horse shows are a rarity in the United States today. Catanoso was unaware of any horses ever being injured in the old Atlantic City act and said but he'll be bringing in daredevils and a high-wire act, along with new rides.
