Grace Bowman (equestrian)

Grace Bowman (born 16 July 1990) is an Australian equestrian. She was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in the equestrian event. She did not medal at the 2012 Games.

Grace Bowman
2012 Australian Paralympic Team portrait of Bowman
Personal information
NationalityAustralia
Born (1990-07-16) 16 July 1990
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportEquestrian

Personal

Bowman was born on 16 July 1990 in Moonta, South Australia.[1][2][3] She attended high school in Kadina.[4] As a child, she participated in several sports including netball and basketball.[3] On 13 September 2002, at the age of twelve, she had an accident with a horse that resulted in her spinal cord becoming severed and dislocated.[3][4][5] Her mother died following an accident, and her father died of cancer in 2011.[1][6] As of 2012 she is a student at the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, where she is majoring in psychology.[1][3]

Bowman was featured on ABC's Race to London.[7]

Equestrian

Bowman is a Grade 1B equestrian competitor.[1] As of 2012, she practices at Kirby Stud Park, is coached by Megan Jones, an Australian Olympic equestrian, and rides a horse named Rolly.[3][6] She was one of the first South Australians to ever represent Australia at the Paralympic Games.[4] She started riding horses in 1996 when she was six years old,[1][3] and owned her first horse when she was ten years old.[3] At the age of 12, she had an accident while riding a horse that left her disabled.[3]

Bowman first represented Australia in 2006.[1][8] She was selected to represent Australia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics,[1][2][3][6][8][9][10] and ultimately finished twelfth in her event with a score of 61.611.[4][11] She finished sixth in the team event.[12] Going into the 2008 Games, she was given A$4,000 to help with her costs.[13] She was a member of Australia's 2009 National High Performance Squad.[14]

Bowman at the 2012 London Paralympics

In 2010 and 2011, Bowman rode Kirby Park Irish Joy.[4][15] At the Kentucky hosted 2010 World Equestrian Games, she finished fourth.[4] She finished first in the 2011 Tamworth NSW Grade II FEI Team Test event, the Championship Test event and the Freestyle event,[16] finished first in the 2011 Grade II National Championships,[16] and finished first in the 2011 Hong Kong Grade II CPEDI3 Freestyle competition.[16] She was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in equestrian.[1][17][18] She did not medal at the 2012 Games.[19]

References
  1. "Grace Bowman". Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2012. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  2. "Olympic dream a reality for Sharon". Donnybrook – Bridgetown Mail. 24 July 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  3. Williamson, Brett (1 February 2012). "Riding with Grace: Bowman's push for second Paralympics". ABC Adelaide – Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  4. Malcolm Sutton (24 October 2011). "Moonta rider trains for Paralympics". Stock Journal. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  5. "Record 170 named in Paralympics team". Nine MSN. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  6. Armstrong, Gordon. "Bond plays big part in Bowman's rise". Weekly Times Messenger. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  7. "Event Guide: Equestrian –". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 4 September 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  8. Fran Cleland (11 September 2008). "Horses Paralympians saddle up". Weekly Times Now. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  9. Keller, Candice (29 July 2008). "South Australian paralympians are training hard". adelaidenow. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  10. "Kullen just misses equestrian medal". ABC Grandstand Sport – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 12 September 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  11. "Horses Georgia takes dressage bronze". Weekly Times Now. 17 September 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  12. "Moonta Paralympian gets special send-off". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 27 August 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  13. Fran Cleland (25 May 2009). "Horses Battams to lead Para squads". Weekly Times Now. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  14. "Horses Sanna shines at Saddleworld". Weekly Times Now. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  15. "Grace Bowman". Australian Equestrian. 16 July 1990. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  16. Iain Hyndman (17 July 2012). "Worldwide lands London spot". Wanganui Chronicle. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  17. "Cathy Freeman visits primary school | SBS World News". SBS. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  18. "Paralympic Equestrian - Schedule, Results, Medals". London 2012. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
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