About 200 Libyan horse riders, as well as a participant from Tunisia, competed in a championship in Tripoli from 3-4 March, according to Reuters.
The last time a similar event was held was in 2009 before the civil war and unrest broke out. The Equestrian Club, located on Tripoli’s airport road, became a battlefield and one of the areas that saw frequent violent clashes.
The Head of the preparatory committee for the Libyan Show Jumping Equestrian Championship, Al-Senussi Asweb told Reuters that the championship is under the slogan of ‘Yes to the Return of Life, and the Homeland brings us Together.’
“We are now in the field of the equestrian school in Tripoli. As you know that equestrianism has had a significant role in Libya, and Libyan horse riders carry a great history. This school used to host riders from all over the world, from Belgium, Italy, Britain, the USA, and Turkey,” Asweb noted.
He added that the championship was “stopped due to the well-known circumstances in Libya.” He stressed that the current championship is “sending a message to the world that Libya is safe, and that equestrianism is still taking place.”
“We seek through this tournament to prepare for a bigger international championship, in which many countries from around the world will participate,” Asweb concluded.
Last month, the Libyan Reconstruction and Stabilization Committee confirmed that the company executing the project to complete the Sports City Stadium has begun field preparation work for the site.
This came during a tour conducted by the head of the Reconstruction and Stabilization Committee, Hatem Al-Oraibi. He was accompanied by the company executing the project after it stopped working in 2011.
Al-Oraibi was briefed on the logistical and technical preparation that includes an administrative site, a residence for workers, and a site for the executive and construction work of the project, in order to start the work of completing the stadium, which stopped working for a period of more than 12 years.