A YORK teenager is taking giant strides towards achieving her goal of becoming a top showjumper.

Maisy Williams is taking the steps to follow in her top showjumper father Guy’s footsteps - as she secured victory in the Junior Grand Prix at the Youth Show jumping Festival in Compiegne in France.

Maisy, 16, from York, showed nerve and skill in equal measures to take the Junior Grand Prix with Guy’s Devil VD To Jo Pe Hoeve.

The pair had experienced a blip in the Junior Team competition early in the five-day show when Devil took exception to a fence on the course, but Maisy remained calm and they returned to the second round of the competition to jump a perfect clear round.

“I have no idea why he did that as he’s very straight, but we are still a very new partnership – this was only our fifth show together –and I just had to forget it. I didn’t ride any differently in the second round and he jumped clear,” said Maisy.

“He’s a great character, he wants to be first out of the stable and getting on with jumping," she added.

Her grit was again on show in the final day’s Grand Prix as she tackled the 1.40m track with gusto - and it was all about the clock as 24 of the original 79 competitors returned for a hot, competitive jump-off.

Maisy’s father Guy is known as ‘The Master of Faster’ and was on hand for advice. But Maisy was on her own in the ring and had the spirit to pull off a win. She didn’t miss a beat, guiding the 15-year-old Devil into tight lines at optimum speed to land victory by 0.86 seconds.

“I was third to go out of 24, I had to do something special. Again, I didn’t change how I rode him, I just trusted him. He’s careful and I was travelling fast, taking one less stride down the distances,” said Maisy.

“The hardest part was waiting it out to see if I won," she added.

The pair will now turn their focus on the under 25 title at Royal Windsor Horse Show and Maisy is looking forward to the challenge.

“I’m hoping to do as well as in France, we want to win," she went on to say.

Maisy's father, Guy Williams, was a part of the Great Britain equestrian team - and winner of a number of prestigious titles including the British Jumping Derby in 2010.

He was also part of the bronze medal-winning team in Madrid in 2011.