Not long after we found this rather astounding leap photo, we came across this quote:
Things can fall apart, or threaten to, for many reasons, and then there’s got to be a leap of faith. Ultimately, when you’re at the edge, you have to go forward or backward; if you go forward, you have to jump together. —Yo-Yo Ma
Sometime the leap is not UP but downward, or in a direction we don’t expect…’jump’ is perhaps the better word. Then, collaboration like that in the picture is quite a gift…being in it TOGETHER.
Diving horses were a huge attraction at fairs starting in the late 19th century; I first read about them at age 11 or so in a wonderful book called Diving Horse, by Patsey Gray. She wrote scads of books for young girls about horses (which I read endlessly), and they were illustrated by the wonderful equestrian artist Sam Savitt. Here’s an interesting write-up about the phenomenon in Atlantic City:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/atlantic_city_taking_a_risky_p.html
Thanks for this Jane. I’ve been researching diving horses since I got a very angry letter from someone this morning about this image, citing animal abuse. Am formulating a reply…Hope to post the whole exchange as there is much to think about.