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]
Formosa at the 2012 London ParalympicsFormosa 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[update], 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]
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