Did you know Singapore has its own independent archery team that just represented the nation at the World Nomad Games? Singaporean horseback archer and proud dad Syed Idrus shares his experience!
Who else is still bummed that the Olympics fever is over? If you’re still craving the competitiveness of international sporting events, you’ll be surprised to know there are plenty happening all-year-round! One such competition we wish we had known about sooner is the World Nomad Games, an international sporting event first organised in the Kyrgyz Republic. What’s even more eye-opening is that a group of athletes have represented Singapore in the most recent games in Kazakhstan! We caught up with one of Singapore’s horseback archers, Syed Idrus, who’s also a devoted dad, on how he got started in the sport and eventually represented the Little Red Dot at the iconic Eurasian sporting event.
Hi Idrus! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your family?
Hello! I’m Syed Idrus. I’m married to my wife, Marhidayah and together we are blessed with our daughter Sharifah Fatimah who is two years old.
My wife currently works from home in IT Application Support. Since she does night shifts, she takes care of Fatimah whenever I’m working or away for training and competitions.
I am currently working as a horse groomer and a rider boy at Singapore Polo Club. My job scope is to take care of horses owned by the club members. As of now, there are a total of six horses under my care. As a horse groomer, I will need to do basic grooming and caretaking such as feeding, showering the horses, cleaning the horse equipment and ensuring that all the horses’ wellbeing are taken care of.
As a rider boy, I need to bring the horses out from their stables to exercise. Horses need to be out as they are active animals. They cannot stay inside the stable for days without exercising. This will affect the health of the horses. Usually I will ride one horse and pull two more horses at a time. On average I will bring out four to six sets of horses per day.
I am also a student at Traditional Archers Singapore, a club that I’ve been a part of since 2021. Traditional Archers Singapore is the first and only traditional archery club in Singapore which only focuses on the most Asiatic method. The club has been around since 2011.
How did you get started in archery?
I consider myself a newbie in this sport. I got to know about this unique sport when I came across a video on horseback archery in early 2021. The video showed a kid riding a horse while doing archery at the same time, and I believe it was taken in Malaysia.
I got curious to know more, so I started watching short clips and videos from YouTube and TikTok. My interest began to grow from there. I started to research for an archery club and found a few clubs in Singapore. As I am more interested in traditional archery, I realised the only club that teaches 100% traditional archery is Traditional Archers Singapore (TAS). The club provides full training that follows the syllabus from Turkiye under a very well known archery school name, Okçular Vakfı.
TAS has various levels and each level consists of a grading test. We need to pass each level to proceed to the next. In TAS, not only do they teach shooting using the bow and arrow, but we are also taught to make our own arrows from scratch. Yes, wooden arrows from a wooden shaft to actual working arrows!
TAS is also the only club in Singapore that has certified coaches recognised by the world traditional archery scene. So, without a doubt, I joined the club to learn more about the sport.
After one year in the club, I decided to go to the next level which is horse riding. TAS doesn’t provide horse riding lessons or courses, so I needed to find a place to learn horse riding to get into horseback archery.
There are a few places in Singapore that offer horse riding lessons but I found it too expensive. Due to my eagerness to learn, I found another alternative – the nearest stable I could find that offered lessons within my means was in Johor Bahru. The stable is located just 30-40 minutes from the Johor customs. I chose this place because the coach that conducts the lesson is an archer and also a horseback rider. I decided to take a couple of lessons per week with him. I live pretty near to the Woodlands Checkpoint so the traveling time is just about one hour from my place.
I started my horse riding lessons in early 2023 and it took me about six months to get the basics of riding. Horse riding might look easy, but it can be quite challenging.
After about eight months of lessons, I joined my first horseback archery competition in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. The competition consisted of athletes from Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. I managed to get fifth position in a beginner event! It was a good experience for me and that’s how I started my competition journey. I then went on to join a competition was in Indonesia (January 2024) followed by the Nomad Games in Kazakhstan (September 2024).
What do you like most about archery and horseback archery?
Archery teaches you integrity, how to focus, how to stay calm and how to have trust. Archery and horseback archery are considered the same sport. But to master horseback archery, you need to learn the basic fundamentals of ground archery, and there are so many things to learn. From there, it will be much easier to apply both skills learned – it’s the proper way to start in horseback archery.
You’ve just represented Singapore in the 5th World Nomad Games 2024 in Kazakhstan. How did you become part of the team representing Singapore, and what was the experience like?
This event is held once every two years and consists of 21 competitive sports. Singaporeans have only participated in two events: Ground Archery and Horseback Archery. Prior to the event, ground archery selection was made among archers that want to participate. For horseback archery, there were only two of us – me and my partner. There were four of us athletes from Singapore competing in Ground Archery and two athletes competing in Horseback Archery, accompanied by two of the coaches.
To be honest I wasn’t ready to participate in this big scale international competition. The registration was open 10 months before the event date but I only applied at the last minute, just four months before the event! By the encouragement of my coaches, I decided to join.
The World Nomad Games is similar to the Olympic Games but a different range of sports. So to represent my country for this international competition is something that I had never ever imagined in my life. It has been such an honour and an unforgettable and amazing experience for me. I got to meet people from all around the world and learned about their cultures, traditions and languages.
I am flabbergasted by how successful the event went, hosting 80 countries for 10 days. Thank you Kazakhstan for this opportunity and if I get the chance to compete again I would definitely love to participate at the next Nomad Games!
How often do you travel for archery competitions?
There are plenty of regional and international Archery and Horseback Archery competitions throughout the year, especially when it’s approaching the year end season. My target for next year competition is to participate in two regional competitions and at least one international competition.
How often do you go for training?
I train usually about two to three days a week. For ground archery, I train at the TAS range located in Pasir Ris. They have a fully equipped range to train for archery shooting there. For horse riding I am glad that I am able to ride during my working hours, six days a week thanks to my job. For horseback archery training, me and my team will do a short training session in Malaysia when the competition dates draw near.
Would you encourage your daughter to pursue archery like you?
Yes, I strongly encourage kids to try out archery. I would be more than happy to let my daughter pursue archery or horseriding. The first animal that my daughter could say was ‘horse’. She loves watching horse videos. When she was about a year old, we traveled to Türkiye where she experienced riding a horse with me. She was so brave and did not even cry. When she was two years old, we brought her to ride a pony and she really enjoyed it and kept asking to ride again! We are happy that she’s already showing interest in horses.
To me it is one of the best sports/activities for kids to spend some time outdoors. Archery is a competitive sport. It will motivate kids to do better in all aspects of work. It also teaches kids to be focused and calm, which will in a way teach them to be disciplined.
I feel archery is a forgotten sport. This sport has been around for ages. People might think it’s a dangerous sport because back then, people used this as a weapon. But things have changed. Archery is now known to be a sport that teaches you many valuable lessons. Parents should really consider introducing this sport to their kids.
So far, my wife and daughter have not followed me to any of my competitions but they are my biggest supporters. They have been supporting me since day one. They have been very understanding with my training routine that can be hectic at times. I’m grateful to have a supportive family. I’m hopeful that one day I’ll be able to take my family to see me compete.
What is your hope for the archery scene in Singapore?
I hope this archery sport will be more known in Singapore so that more people get to experience it themselves. I am happy to see there are quite a number of archery clubs in Singapore already, whether it’s Modern or Traditional archery. Both are similar but their shooting methods are different. If you want to learn more about Traditional Archery, the best club to join is Traditional Archers Singapore!
Where can people/kids sign up for archery in Singapore?
Traditional Archers Singapore offers classes for all age groups. From kids to teenagers, adults and also senior citizens. All from different backgrounds. Check out their Facebook page Traditional Archers Singapore or Instagram @traditionalarchers.sg for updates on their course openings!
Archery is not just a sport, it’s a learning journey.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Idrus!
