JAMAICA retained the Caribbean Equestrian Association (CEA) Junior Jumping Championship title but had to share the Bernard Payen Memorial Shield with the Cayman Islands after both countries ended on 15 points following yesterday’s final round of competition at the Kingston Polo Club and Equestrian Centre.

Barbados finished the Championship in third spot with 10 points followed Trinidad and Tobago with eight.

Bermuda, who had already completed their schedule and did not compete in Kingston, ended with seven points.

After two flawless rounds on Saturday, the Jamaicans encountered a number of mishaps in the third and fourth rounds yesterday.

Lackife Leslie on Ali Baba had one time fault finishing the course in 61.48 seconds in the 16 and under category, while Francesca Chin had a knock down on her third round ride in the 14 and under.

Chin rebounded on her fourth and final ride to register the fastest time of 39.65 seconds in the decisive speed round.

However, Leslie was not so fortunate. On his final ride he knocked down the same barrier Chin had dislodged in her third.

He completed the course in 37.89 seconds as the Jamaicans registered nine faults on day two and were third in the day’s overall competition.

Leslie, who was part of the title winning Jamaican team in 2006, told the Observer that he was very “upset” at the error.

Chin won the overall 14 and under competition based on time after ending the two-day action tied on four faults with Heather Walker of Barbados.

Jamaica, who were sole winners last year, had entered the fourth and final round of the Championship on 13 points, holding a one point advantage over the Cayman Islands on 12.

Leslie competed on the former Triple Crown winner I’msatisfied on the first day, while Chin and her mount Jiggy also left Jamaica well-positioned entering the final day.

The Stadium Jumping course was used for this round and included oxers, vertical, and combination jumps.

Riders are penalised four faults for a knock-down and four for a refusal (horse refuses to jump) and a single fault penalty for a time violation.

Both Leslie and Chin were selected for this round after beating nine other competitors in the local trials.

The CEA Show Jumping Finals are spread across five countries, with each country hosting one round and travelling for three others.

Meanwhile, at yesterday’s annual general meeting of the CEA, it was proposed that a 12 and Under class be added in a bid to increase the number of entrants for regional competitions.

President of the Equestrian Federation of Jamaica (EFJ) John Ralston told the Observer that a number of changes have been instituted for local competitions for the coming year.

Ralston said he hoped to have the standard height for Show Jumping moved up from metre 20 (1.2m) to metre 40 (1.4m). He noted that competitions in the developed world went up as high as metre 60.

Ralston said increasing the heights for CEA competitions would prove a challenge because they are borrowed field competitions.

The current standards are 0.8m for 14 and Under and 0.95m for 16 and under jumpers.