Horseback archer hopes more youngster take up the sport
Published on: Saturday, November 17, 2018
Terengganu: Mohd Ridzuan Zakaria, 28, has always been interested in horse riding and archery. So, it was a no-brainer when he combined the two activities he loves the most – archery and horse riding – for the new and more challenging sport, as well as one that is least popular in the country, called horseback archery.Known as 'Mat Ju' among his friends and hailing from Kampung Pak Kancil, Setiu, he never thought he would bring glory to Malaysia in only his second participation in a tournament in Indonesia recently.He returned home with a silver medal despite having taken up horseback archery just four years ago.
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"Previously, I only focused on horse riding. It was only in 2014 that I started taking an interest in archery. It was only after I mastered both that I began to consider taking up horseback archery."Never did it cross my mind that my interest and hobby in animals would also lead to me landing a job because, apart from taking part in competitions, I also teach others horseback archery and also to be farriers.Mat Ju, who is the fifth of nine siblings, said that to excel in the sport, one needed to be good at riding and handling the horse as well as have good vision to shoot an arrow while riding."It's important for the rider to be compatible with the horse because you need to communicate and react to it … and that calls for trust and faith. It's crucial for a rider to trust his horse because it has been trained and knows its task. As for the rest, you just have to have faith and pray that the connection you have with the horse will pay off," he said.
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Mat Ju said that he and 10 teammates competed in the 1st International Horseback Archery Indonesia 2018 in Pondok Pesantren Al-Fatah Temboro-Karas-Magetan, East Java, on Nov 10 and 11 and he finished second in the Korean Track event."I was up against 42 other competitors from eight countries, Indonesia, Romania, Kuwait, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Singapore and my own teammates. Thank God, I managed to win a silver in one of the four events I took part in.
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"In horseback archery, we need to be able to overcome all kinds of challenges because it's not as smooth sailing as when you are training on your own. The track used for a competition is far more challenging and the horse you are riding is not the one you trained on!," he said.The organisers will conduct a draw before the event to decide who will get which horse and everyone will then be given some time to get used to their horses before the actual competition. Mat Ju hopes that more youngsters, especially those in Terengganu, would take up horseback archery and turn the state into a powerhouse in the sport, just like what it has done with cycling.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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