Ms Jumabekova, 29, From Kyrgyzstan, Has Been Riding Competitively for Only Three Years

( Pavel Mikheyev ) The horse is already moving when Sezim Jumabekova draws her bow. She has three targets to hit before the track runs out. She grips the horse with her thighs, twists at the waist, and shoots.

Ms Jumabekova, 29, from Kyrgyzstan, has been riding competitively for only three years. "I've fallen off many times and torn my clothes learning new tricks," she said. Sezim Jumabekova tries out new tricks ahead of the opening ceremony.

Despite being a relative newcomer to the sport, she is competing in horseback archery in the World Nomad Games from August 31 to September 6 in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan launched the World Nomad Games in 2014 as a stage for the traditional sports and cultures of Central Asia's nomadic peoples. What began with 20 countries and 10 traditional sports has grown, in just over a decade, into an international competition of about 100 countries competing across 43 events.

An eagle hunter, also known as berkutchi, competes. ( Vyacheslav Oseledko ) Some of the sports are obscure outside the region, like eagle and falcon hunting and Kok-boru, where a horseback team wrestles for a sheep. "It's like AFL and the NRL here in Australia, but on horseback, said Ahmed Kharat, captain of the Australian team competing in archery events in this year's games.

Many of the sports have cultural significance and local audiences. Eagle hunting on command traces back to the Mongol conquests of the 12th and 13th centuries. Falconry is a traditional sport with hunting assisted by Taigan hounds.

( Pavel Mikheyev ) An 11-kilometre horse race is among some of the equestrian events that have a rich history in neighbouring Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Another is Er enish, a traditional Kyrgyz horseback wrestling sport. The team from Kazakhstan unseated opponents to win gold in both the 60-kilogram and 70-kilogram categories this year.

Two teams compete in Kok-Boru, throwing a stuffed sheepskin into a goal for points. ( Vyacheslav Oseledko ) There are several other competitions competed on foot. One times how quickly teams put up a yurt, a traditional portable nomadic dwelling used by nomadic families moving between pastures.

In another event called Ordo, teams use sheep knucklebones to flick opposing pieces from a marked ring. Eagle hunting dates back to the Mongol Empire days. ( Vyacheslav Oseledko ) The World Nomad Games is more than entertainment.

Regional commentators also point to their political and economic purpose. Kyrgyzstan is a young state, which became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991, building its national identity from its nomadic past. It was deeply integrated into the Soviet industrial machine, with one of its largest factories producing torpedoes for the Soviet navy.

The 6th World Nomad Games kicked off this week in Kyrgyzstan. ( Pavel Mikheyev ) When the Soviet Union collapsed, so did those jobs. "Kyrgyzstan is quite unique as it experienced a lot of outward migration to the countryside after the collapse, said Kiril Nourzhanov, an associate professor in Central Asian Studies at the Australian National University. "The economy of Kyrgyzstan was hit for six, and it experienced deindustrialisation, so more people began to engage in agriculture, including the traditional nomadic pastoralism," he added.