TORDESILLAS, Spain (AP) — Men on horseback in a Spanish town chased down a bull and speared it to death Tuesday during the annual Toro de la Vega festival — a tradition reviled by animal rights activists, who turned out by the hundreds to protest.

Scuffles broke out between activists and the festival's more numerous supporters before the bull, weighing more than half a ton, was set loose in the north central town of Tordesillas.

The activists also staged a sit-down protest but scattered, along with festival supporters, when the bull was released and headed toward them before being driven to a field.

The bull-spearing event has been held for centuries and supporters defend it as an important historical tradition.

The person credited with killing the bull usually gets a medal and a young man was initially hailed as the winner. But the mayor of Tordesillas said later that judges observing the event decided no one would get the award this year.

Mayor Jose Antonio Gonzalez told reporters there were "several problems" with how the killing happened, without specifying what rules were not followed.

In 2012 there was no winner because the bull was killed outside the designated area, Spanish media reported.

Clendenning reported from Madrid.