Dark Horse Erina Impresses Competition

By Sakina Mohamed KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 (Bernama) -- Erina Emelina Ismail was a sight to behold at the recently concluded International Horseback Archery Championship here. The petite 24-year-old archer stood out in her bright red hijab as she rode the wind, rapidly firing arrows into set targets while her horse galloped along a winding track. She performed particularly well on the Korean track during the second day of the competition, garnering praises from even world-renowed mounted archers. "Malaysia has some potentially excellent horseback archers", Lukas Novotny said of her. Novotny, representing the US, is well-known horseback archer and the artisan behind the Saluki Bow. He later went on to win the Korean track category as well as the championship. NEWCOMER IN THE FIELD It was quite an amazing feat for Erina, considering that she only had about six months of training in horseback archery prior to the competition. "I’ve only started taking up traditional archery in September last year, so I have had about a year’s worth of experience. As for horseback archery, I have only started training back in April", she told Bernama when met at the Selangor Turf Club (STC) Equestrian and Sports Centre , recently. However, she had gained basic horse riding skills back in university. Erina, who went to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Skudai, Johor, was the president of the university’s Equine Club. "I enjoyed it very much but had to stop riding after two years so that I could focus on my final examinations", said the Telekom Malaysia executive, who graduated in mechatronics engineering in 2013. She had heard of horseback archery then and was intrigued by the idea, but found archery lessons inaccessible. "Back then, many of the classes were held in the Klang Valley. So I decided I would wait until after graduation to start archery lessons, and then combine it with my riding skills", she explained. Upon graduation, Erina, who stayed with her family in Shah Alam (in Selangor state), started to look for traditional archery classes. A DEDICATED LEARNER She first trained under Mohd Azizul Idris, founder of Bow and Arrow, a traditional archery school in Sungai Buloh. "I went for lessons whenever I could. Aside from the regular lessons, I also sought to catch my instructor when he was free, so that I could get extra lessons", she revealed. Mohd Azizul, when contacted, affirmed that Erina was indeed a committed student. "She would stay back after classes to correct or perfect a technique, and she would come for extra lessons. She was extremely hardworking, and I admire her commitment", he said. About a month after she started lessons, she entered a competition that was a monthly norm for many traditional archery schools. "I actually won third place in the 'moving target' category. It gave me a confidence boost and spurred me on", she said. She went on to enter many more competitions afterwards to gauge her progress and add to her experience. BACK ON THE SADDLE After a two-year hiatus from horseback riding, Erina resumed riding lessons in April this year at the Sungai Besi Air Base, training under Sgt Marshal Ajail, a skilled military horseman. "It was awkward initially, as my skills were a little rusty. My entire body ached because I had not been riding for so long. "But after a few refresher classes, I got the feel of things and it became easier from then on", she said. It was only after Marshal was confident of Erina’s riding skills that he introduced her to the basics of horseback archery. "After I had shown good balance on the horse, he started training me the ways of combining my archery skills with riding. "I train at least twice a week, with each lesson lasting about an hour", she said. After mastering archery, she trained by herself at home while riding lessons were continued at the airbase. "I train for archery three to four times a week, focusing on “fast shooting” (a technique of firing multiple arrows in rapid succession) because speed matters in horseback archery", she said. Erina was Malaysia’s sole female representative at the championship, and was one of the eight representing the country. Marshal, who also competed, spoke highly of the performance of his protégé. "She performed very well for a rider who had just ventured into horseback archery, and certainly gave the international competitors a run for their money. "It took me about two months to train her. She had the basic riding skills as she was previously an endurance rider, so that of course made my job easier", he said to Bernama. FAMILY SUPPORT Erina, who is the eldest of four siblings and the only daughter in her family, said she was fortunate to have her family’s support throughout her journey. "When I stated my intention to start horseback archery, my parents were naturally apprehensive. However, they have come to terms with it now. "Because of my past involvement in equestrian sports, my parents have some idea of what to expect, and have even become interested. My 50-year-old father even took up archery lessons in January this year", she said. A WARRIOR PRINCESS The key person for realising the championship in Malaysia, Sheikh Fuad Sheikh Mahmud, spoke enthusiastically of Erina’s performance during the competition. "Erina has performed fantastically despite only a year of experience in archery. I am proud of her and would like to crown her as our Adruja", he said. Adruja Wijayamala Singa was a Malay warrior princess from the 14th century who led a cavalry of men and women archers against a Thai army. She was also known as the first Che Siti Wan Kembang. Her story was mentioned in the travel accounts of Ibnu Battuta. Sheikh Fuad, an accomplished mounted archer himself, is also the president of the Adruja Horseback Archery Club and the founder of the Learning Archery through Play (LEAP) programme, the first formal traditional archery programme in Malaysia. Both the club and programme were responsible for spearheading the development of horseback archery in Malaysia. HORSEBACK ARCHERY IN MALAYSIA The event that was held at the Selangor Turf Club from Sept 25-28 was part of the 2014 International Horse Show, which was launched by Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin. It is the first championship of its kind held in Malaysia and was participated by several of the world’s most skillful mounted archers such as Kassai Lajos from Hungary, who won the Hungarian track category in the competition and Cozmei Mihai from Romania (winner of the Polish track). The competition saw 35 participants from 20 countries, namely Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Poland, Qatar, Romania, South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Horseback archery, an activity originating from hunting and war disciplines, is a game of speed and accuracy. Developed as a sport in modern times, a horseback archer is rewarded points based on his riding speed and shooting accuracy. More points will be given if a rider completes the track faster than the stipulated period. On the other hand, points will be deducted if the rider takes a longer time to complete the track. Erina said she was quite pleased with the Malaysian team’s performance during the competition. "I think we performed well. We did set our eyes on winning and tried our best, but are well aware that we are competing with the world’s best-mounted archers. But that, in itself, was a priceless learning experience for us". (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA