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By Nafissa Assed
Tripoli, 21 April:
The first horse auction in Libya in decades took in Tajoura on 20 and 21 April. The . . .[restrict]Libyan Horses Auction was organized by Masar Alqalam Expo Company and sponsored by a number of Libyan companies such as the Al-Mosawama Stables for the Production and Breeding of Arabian Horses. Many of the horses were owned by Mohemed Al-Masrati, a Libyan who is reputed to have some of the finest stock in the country. He has a controlling interest in the Al-Bayda Stables for Horse Breeding. The auction was broadcast on the LRT sports channel.
According to Ehab Albouizi, CEO of Masar Alqalam, the idea behind the auction was to show to Libya and the world the size of the Libyan horse market and to promote the importance of market within the country.
“There were 29 Arabian and English thoroughbreds in the auction,” Ehab said. The same of 18 horses are still being debated, he added, because the owners had put a reserve price on them and potential buyers were mulling over the figures. Some thought them too expensive. However, the auction closed seven deals, in which the most expensive horse was an 11-year old English thoroughbred named Al-Rahma. It fetched LD 24,000.
The auction also featured a number of Quarter Horses which had won awards in racetracks and in beauty contests, and their progeny
Ehab said that such auctions had been banned during Qaddafi’s time. The Libyan owners of the finest horses were never be able to organise or participate in such events or show their horses openly. “There was a time when importing horses was forbidden in Libya and only people who were related directly to or had strong ties to Qaddafi were permitted to import horses,” he said.
Masar Alqalam, the organizing company, plans horse auctions twice a year. Ehab said the second auction would most likely take place before the end of the year, in October or November. [/restrict]
