'Last of Mohicans': Chadians saddle up for bush horse racing

Biligoni, Chad: Through a cloud of dust in the late afternoon sunshine, Chadian jockeys, some riding bareback, raced their sleek, muscular steeds arou...

Biligoni, Chad: Through a cloud of dust in the late afternoon sunshine, Chadian jockeys, some riding bareback, raced their sleek, muscular steeds around the oval track marked out just a few days earlier to the cheers of a large crowd.

Horse racing in the central African country draws the wealthy and elite who venture far from the comforts of the big city to camp out in the bush to enjoy it.

From members of the president's family to the stable owners, businessmen, diplomats and high-ranking officials, race season is a prestigious affair in one of the poorest countries in the world.

"Winning a race in Chad is like winning the Champion's League," said racehorse breeder and owner Amir Adoudou Artine, puffing on a small cigar, referring to the annual football competition of top-division European clubs.

Less well-heeled racegoers climbed trees or sat on the roofs of 4x4 pick-up trucks to get a good view of the Biligoni racecourse, in a town midway between the bush and the desert in the southwest of Barh el Gazel province.