Daring pony takes the plunge

While some of us may have been treated to displays of the Metropolitan Police horses jumping through hoops of fire or the Cossacks' horseback dare devilry at Olympia, few will have seen a horse on a diving board, let alone a very contented horse happily jumping off of that diving board.

However 'Lightning' a chestnut pony from America, makes twice daily leaps off of a specially adapted horse-diving board as part of a show at Magic Kingdom Amusement Park in upstate New York.

Lightning The Wonder Horse, to give him his full title, is the last in a line of diving horses specially trained by their owner to perform equine aquatics in the USA. Lightning does the stunt riderless wearing just a headcollar and needs no form of encouragement other than the promise of a bucket of oats at the end of the day.

You can see pictures of Lightning in action here.

[Image © MikeBaird via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence]