‘I can’t believe it’ – Shocking footage shows moment Olympic showjumper is thrown from horse and into obstacle

Olympics showjumper Henrik von Eckermann was thrown into an obstacle after being chucked off by his horse.

Shocking footage of the incident has gone viral with the Swede narrowly avoiding a serious injury.

World No1 Von Eckermann had reached the showjumping final at the Paris Olympics, but started the event looking somewhat ropey.

He could not keep his horse King Edward in line, which saw the 14-year-old drift towards an obstacle.

The gelding stopped suddenly, throwing him off the saddle and into the obstacle at wicked speed.

Speaking on Eurosport, commentator Richard Vaughan said: “I can’t believe it.

“Something was not right. He looked a bit odd yesterday.

"I thought they did very well to scramble round, but it has all fallen apart.

“It was unravelling earlier on. They got over the big double then the water seemed OK, but then after that the horse seemed to run away.”

While Von Eckermann was eliminated in shock fashion as the favourite to claim gold, he did manage to get to his feet and was thankfully OK.

Only days before he won gold in Paris in the team competition for Sweden.

Von Eckermann, who has been number one in the world for two years in showjumping, was not the only one to struggle in the final.