Wine Horse Winner
The horses taking part in the festivities at Caravaca de la Cruz begin the day by being paraded around the town. Eventually, all of the horses reach the bottom of the hill below the ancient crusader castle, and it is then that the fun really begins.
According to the legend, when the castle was besieged by the Moors a number of men and horses were sent out, in secret, to fetch some water. Finding no water, the men filled their horses' skins with wine. They then returned to Caravaca and, under heavy fire from the besieging Moors, galloped the horses up the steep road leading to the castle.
The highlight of the Wine Horse fiesta is a sprint up the hill with four men clinging each to one corner of the over-dressed horse. This is evidently supposed to replicate the legendary sprint (although there are some who say that the sprint came before the legend...) The hill is steep, but the distance is so short that the horses can cover it in under ten seconds. However, hanging on to a galloping horse is no easy matter - and if any of the four runners falls, or lets go of the horse the team is disqualified.
The horse in this photograph has just won the annual sprint, and the man at his head - one of the four runners - is damaging his chances of winning future races with a celebratory cigarillo.