MALMESBURY School beat off strong nationwide opposition from 28 other teams to win the National Inter-Schools showjumping class at the Royal Windsor Horse Show last weekend – and then celebrated by jumping into the River Thames.

The cleverly-designed course had been taking its toll as Malmesbury rode into the arena as one of the last to compete.

Miranda King (15) on Kenmor Gold, Rosie Pyle(15) on The Saint II, Kirsty Poulton (14) on Cape Clear Crystal and Evie Dyer (14) riding WSH Ryehill Dixie, judged their jumps and turns to perfection.

Putting in a polished performance to finish on a team score of 0 jumping penalties in the fastest time of the afternoon, they took the top prize.

The girls were presented with special show rugs embroidered with the Royal Windsor crest and enjoyed an exclusive gallop of honour round the ring in the shadow of Windsor Castle.

“Despite an agonisingly long wait to go in, the girls never forgot they were part of a team,” said Malmesbury equestrian team manager, Sam Pyle.

“They followed instructions, rode beautifully and gave an exceptional performance.”

Miranda, Rosie, Evie and Kirsty have had a phenomenal few months.

At the 2013 Schools’ National Championships held at Addington Equestrian Centre last October, they emerged as Reserve Champions.

Malmesbury School headteacher,Tim Gilson, said: “We are all very proud of the team’s success. It is a real achievement to be competing and winning at a national standard in highly competitive events.

"We are also very fortunate to have a dedicated group of parents who organise and support our equestrian team.”

On the same weekend as Windsor, four other Malmesbury students won team or individual prizes at the inter-schools horse trials hosted by Stonar School, and last month, Malmesbury's young showjumping team qualified for the national championships to be held at Addington this autumn.