A man rides a horse through a bonfire as part of a ritual in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals, in San Bartolome de Pinares, about 100 km west of Madrid, Spain on Thursday, January 16, 2014. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses through the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the “Luminarias”, a tradition that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires and protect them for the year to come. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)

Japan's Shingo Kunieda celebrates with trophy after winning the men's wheelchair tennis final against Argentina's Gustavo Fernandez at the French Open in Paris on June 4, 2022. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)

A man rides a motorcycle during the first gathering of motorists at the beginning of the spring season in Mirna Pec April 6, 2015. Some 7000 motorists gathered to be blessed by a priest for a safe ride in the spring. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)

Ella Bucio of Mexico takes part in a training session before Women's Speed Semi Final at the FIG Parkour World Championships in Tokyo on October 15, 2022. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)

People dressed as mermaids and mermen take part in the group swim during the MerMagic Convention at the Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center in Manassas, Virginia on March 4, 2023. The event bills itself as the “World's Largest Mermaid Convention”. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso/AFP Photo)

Ferrari's Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Jr celebrates winning the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix night race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore on September 17, 2023. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)

“Hippo Chase”. As we approached the camp the Selinda Reserve of northern Botswana our boat passed by a hippo resting in the water. I turned around to look back at the boat's wake and saw the hippo charging after us! The hippo must've been tired from an all-nighter because he was angry. He rose way up out of the water three times trying to chase our boat! He was coming at us with such force that he created a wake of his own. Photo location: Selinda Reserve of northern Botswana. (Photo and caption by Curtis Simmons/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“The Independence day”. While on storm chasing expeditions in the Tornado Alley in USA I have encountered many photogenic supercell storms. This photograph was taken while we were approaching the storm near Julesburg, Colorado on My 28th, 2013. The storm was tornado warned for more than one hour, but stayed an LP storm through all its cycles and never produced a tornado, just occasional brief funnels, large hail and some rain. Photo location: Julesburg, Colorado, USA. (Photo and caption by Marko Korošec/National Geographic Photo Contest)