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Joann Formosa
Formosa on the field in 2012
Personal information
NationalityAustralian
Born (1961-02-19) 19 February 1961 (age 63)
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportEquestrian
Medal record
Equestrian
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Mixed Dressage - Championship grade Ib

Joann Formosa, OAM (born 19 February 1961) is an Australian Para-equestrian, who won a gold medal at the 2012 London Paralympics.

Personal

Joann Helen Formosa was born on 19 February 1961, [1] [2] and is from Broadford [1] in central Victoria. [3] She attended university, where she studied art. [1]

Formosa has spinal cord and nerve damage, caused by an accident following an attempt to open a gate while she was riding a horse. [1] [4] She can walk with the aid of crutches, [5] though she is not self-sufficient, and requires assistance from nursing staff at Mitchell Community Health Services. [4] She has severe allergies to substances including horse feed and hay. [6]

Equestrian

Formosa started competing in equestrian in 1980. [1] Before her accident, she competed in dressage and show jumping events. [4] She helped found Kilmore Adult Riding Club, the first adult pony club in her region. [4]

Formosa at the 2012 London Paralympics
Formosa wearing her gold medal at the 2012 London Paralympics

Formosa is a Grade 1B equestrian dressage competitor. [1] [5] As a competitor in this class, she is required to perform a "dressage test involving medium to collected walk, a quarter walk pirouette and a long rein walk, as well as working trot and lengthening in the trot." [5] She competes without stirrups as she does not have enough leg control to justify them. [4] She has been coached by Manuela McLeans since 2011. [4] [7] She is a member of Riding for the Disabled Victoria, [8] and is based at the Australian Equine Behaviour Centre at Clonbinane. [9] As of 2012, she has a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport. [10]

At the 2006 Victorian State Dressage Championships, Formosa finished first in the Grade 1B event while riding Greenhill Chromes Reflection. [11] She competed in the 2006 World Equestrian Games, where she made her national team debut and competed in her first competition outside Australia. [1] [9] After returning from this competition, Formosa had an accident while riding her horse. [1] She was a member of Australia's 2009 National High Performance Squad. [12] In 2009, she competed in the Australian Masters Game. [13] She finished first in the 2011 National Championship in the Grade 1B category. [1] [9] At the Victorian-hosted 2011 Oceania Championships, she won two gold medals. [1] At the 2012 London Paralympics, she won a gold medal in the Mixed Dressage - Championship grade Ib event. [14] She qualified on Worldwide PB, a "former Wanganui-owned Hanoverian stallion" that she acquired in December 2011. [3] [5]

Recognition

In November 2013, Formosa was awarded the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) Against All Odds award. [15] She was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the 2014 Australia Day Honours "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games." [2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Joann Formosa". Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2012. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Australia Day honours list 2014: in full". Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  3. ^ a b Price, Libby (9 July 2012). "Riding high for the Paralympics". Bush Telegraph. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Horses Formosa off to London". Weekly Times Now. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d Iain Hyndman (17 July 2012). "Worldwide lands London spot". Wanganui Chronicle. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  6. ^ Paxinos, Stathi (3 September 2012). "Battler downs champion to take gold". The Age. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Joann Formosa". Australian Equine Behaviour Centre. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  8. ^ Burin, Margaret (16 July 2012). "Mini Olympics puts spotlight on Paralympics potential". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  9. ^ a b c "Joann Formosa". Equestrian Australia. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  10. ^ "Victorian Athletes Selected for London Olympics and Paralympics". VicSport. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  11. ^ Cleland, Fran (20 September 2006). "Crowning glory for RDA riders". The Weekly Times. Melbourne, Australia. p. 62. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  12. ^ Fran Cleland (25 May 2009). "Horses Battams to lead Para squads". Weekly Times. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  13. ^ "12th AUSTRALIAN MASTERS GAMES". Geelong Advertiser. Australia. 21 February 2009. p. 55. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  14. ^ "Joann Formosa". Paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  15. ^ "Australia's Joann Formosa honoured at FEI Awards Gala". International Paralympic Committee News. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
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