(CNN) -- Each summer, more than 50,000 people pour into a cobblestone square in Tuscany for a gut-wrenching 90-seconds. That's all it takes for the flamboyantly dressed jockeys of Italy's legendary horse race -- Palio di Siena -- to race bareback around the medieval square. It's been called the "most dangerous horse race in the world" -- about as far away as you can get from the genteel green lawns of Britain's Royal Ascot or the multimillion prize money bestowed on America's Kentucky Derby. Now as the dust settles on this year's colorful Palio di Siena, CNN takes a look at five weird and wonderful horse festivals from across the world.
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As the dust settles on Italy's Palio de Siena, CNN looks at wild horse festivals
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Includes fire leaping in Spain and samurai battles in Japan
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A world away from traditional races such as Royal Ascot or Kentucky Derby
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Some ancient horse shows date back to 10th Century
Fire and horses may seem like an unlikely combination, but that's exactly the dramatic scene which takes place in a small town in central @placeholder each year.