Mounted archery: 10-year-old girl defies all expectations
KUALA LUMPUR: A 10-yearold girl defied all expectations when she decided to practise mounted archery almost two years ago.
Heba Nusaybah Ahmad Mu’az is one of the youngest athletes in horseback archery and has never hesitated to pursue her interest despite falling off her horse multiple times.
“The most important thing is that we have to trust the horse.
“Otherwise, the rider loses concentration in archery, whereas calmness is the key to mounted archery.
“Just like humans, horses have emotions and know riders’ feelings, whether we are scared, anxious, selfish or quicktempered,” she recently told Bernama.
Heba Nusaybah and her 13year-old brother ‘Abdurrahman Ahmad Mu’az, are no strangers to the sport under the ARBA Equestrian Archery Club, having successfully made a name for themselves in several horseback archery competitions in Malaysia and Indonesia.
The siblings had competed in the horseback archery tournament, Indonesia Santri Day 2023 in Banyumas, Central Java, Indonesia; the Malaysian Horseback Archery League 2023 in Cape Cavellho, Rembau, Negeri Sembilan; the Tahfiz Malaysia Horseback Archery League 2023 in Yan, Kedah and the first and second series of the National Youth Horseback Archery Championship 2023 in Ladang Alam Warisan, Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan and Batu Kurau, Perak.
Heba Nusaybah said her interest in mounted archery was encouraged by her mother, who often took her to Rubinga Equestrian Park Gombak.
“Horse riding is one of my mother’s hobbies, so we also took part occasionally.
“Over time, we developed an interest in it and eventually fell increasingly in love with the sport,” she said.
Her mother and manager, Nurul Fathim Ridayu Ramli, 38, said her two children took up mounted archery after training with experienced instructors in Bogor and Riau, Indonesia, in December 2022.
“...they receive direct guidance from the trainer via WhatsApp for three months. Every day, they must practise shooting 200 arrows and record a video to give to the trainer.
“The most important thing is the archery itself, which must be practised as often as possible, while riding is practised once a week,” she said, adding that her children travel to Riau every month.
Asked about the cost of the sport, Nurul Fathim Ridayu admitted that it requires significant expenses and to alleviate the financial burden, the mother of six children aged between two and 14 endeavours various activities that can generate income.
“I prefer to let my children learn to earn money independently. One of the other ways to earn pocket money is by selling at the stables (horse stable), making bows and arrows and selling them, and holding classes to learn archery and horse riding,” she said.
Nurul Fathim Ridayu hopes the Ministry of Youth and Sports would recognise the sport, encouraging more people to be involved.