Former Sandwell Academy pupil Joe Fraser shows off skills in gymnast promo following shoulder injury

The 24-year-old, who grew up in West Bromwich and attended Sandwell Academy, showed off his skills in a promotional film for the event taking place this weekend.

The gymnast was invited to Lincolnshire ahead of the annual showpiece – which starts on Thursday – performing a series of handstands, flicks, dive-somersaults, and pommel horse work on logs, tables, drops, and in the middle of a lake.

Fraser, who won gold on parallel bars in the 2019 World Championships, pulled off a routine on the roof of the new defender to promote the event, which attracts around 170,000 visitors each year.

Though it's clear that the gymnast is making a good recovery following a shoulder injury earlier this year, and has the European and Commonwealth crowns under his belt, he will not be attending the World Championship alongside fellow gymnasts Max Whitlock and Jake Jarman in Antwerp next month. He will remain in recovery ahead of next summer's Olympic Games.

Joe said: "I've done some tumbles, vaulting, planches and handstands today.

"It's definitely given me a new respect for the fences these horses take on."

Martyn Johnson, event director, added: "Defender Burghley is widely regarded as the most challenging and prestigious horse trials competition in the world.

"And it's something that can be won only by a true equestrian gymnast, which has suppleness, grace, courage, speed and strength in equal ratios.

"So we thought we'd spread the word about it to a wider audience by inviting a human gymnast, for a change, to try out the legendary cross-country course here — and the results have blown us away."

Defender Burghley Horse Trials – August 31 - September 3 – has been a major international sporting and social event for over 50 years. It attracts the world's top equestrians and over 170,000 visitors. For more information visit burghley-horse.co.uk.