Horses ride through flames in Spanish festival

Horses burst through the soaring flames of night-time bonfires in a dramatic annual festival in a small Spanish town Sunday. Hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the Luminarias festival in San Bartolomé de Pinares, a town north-west of Madrid.

The bonfires are called "luminarias," and the Las Luminarias festival is believed to be centuries-old. Some say it is related to ancient Catholic traditions of fighting disease through cleansing by smoke.

It takes place every January 16 on the eve of the annual remembrance of St. Anthony the Abbot, the patron saint of animals. Animal rights groups have complained about the practice, but locals say the horses do not suffer.