Circuses & Shows

Trick riding, juggling, tumbling, and the exhibiting of wild animals can be traced to antiquity. The circus was not created until 1768, however, when Philip Astley brought these separate features together in a ring near London. In the 19th century costumed riders performed pantomimes on horseback or engaged in a more acrobatic style of equestrianism. Trick riding has been relegated to a subordinate position in the circus today, a spectacle that is more appropriate to a Las Vegas revue. Today's circuses offer a greater profusion of acts, and circus artists have skills that their forefathers never considered possible.