It seems a rather odd way to honor the patron saint of animals, but for hundreds of years horsemen have celebrated the festival of San Bartolome de Pinares in Spain by riding through imposing fires.
On the eve of Saint Anthony’s Day, hundreds ride their horses through the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome in Spain during the “Luminarias,” a tradition that dates back 500 years and is meant to protect the horses for the year to come by purifying them with the smoke of bonfires.
The horses are doused with water before the jumps to prevent their coats from singeing. Riders say the animals do not suffer, but animal rights activists have long complained that the practice is cruel.
Photos by The Associated Press and Getty Images
Photo Edit by Mark Edelson