Paul Nicholls says the world's changed but the weighing room hasn't

MARCUS TOWNEND: Champion trainer Paul Nicholls says ‘the world’s changed but the weighing room hasn’t changed with it’ after Robbie Dunne was found guilty of bullying and harassing Bryony Frost

• Two jockeys were involved in one of the most serious hearings ever at the BHA
• Robbie Dunne, 36, was found guilty of bullying and harassing Bryony Frost, 26
• Dunne called her a ‘sl**’ and ‘w****’ and threatened to put her ‘through a wing’
• Dunne was subsequently given an 18-month ban, with three months suspended
• The panel feared the attitudes within the weighing room were ‘deep-rooted’
• Trainer Paul Nicholls said the world had moved on but the weighing room hasn’t

Two jockeys were involved in this case but the outcome has ramifications for all jockeys — male and female.

The fact an independent panel found Robbie Dunne guilty of the most serious charge of bringing horse racing into disrepute could not have been worse for him, the sport or his fellow riders.

What will stagger those watching is that Dunne carried out a long and sustained campaign of bullying against Bryony Frost but no other jockey felt the need to intervene and tell him to stop or even moderate his behaviour. 

Robbie Dunne (L) has been found guilty of verbally abusing and threatening Bryony Frost (R) 

Frost, pictured racing at Hereford, was reduced to tears in front of her fellow riders 

And it wasn’t just Frost. The panel described the evidence of amateur rider Hannah Welch, who said Dunne had reduced her to tears in front of fellow riders, as persuasive.

Panel chair Brian Barker was damning when he spoke of the weighing-room culture which allowed Dunne to remove his towel, expose and shake himself in front of Frost. 

Barker said the panel feared the attitudes within the weighing room were ‘deep-rooted and coercive’ and ‘not conducive to the good health and development’ of racing.

A BHA report included claims from Frost that ill-feeling between her and Dunne stretched back to before 2017

Dunne’s defence team attempted to make the case that Frost was either making up or exaggerating the misogynistic behaviour

Dunne may have had issues with how Frost rides and those may be shared by other riders, but that did not give him the right to fire volleys of vile language and threats in her direction.

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls, who employs Frost, said the world had moved on but the weighing room had not moved with it. That seems right.

The Professional Jockeys Association have a code of conduct for the weighing room being free from fear, intimidation and discrimination. 

The sight of a tearful female jockey giving evidence showed that code had not worked.

As Dunne faces up to his ban, Frost must continue to work in an environment she says has shunned her. Somehow bridges must be rebuilt, issues thrashed out.

In the longer term the mantra ‘what goes on in the weighing room has to stay there’ must also be updated. This case has made it look like a chamber of secrecy and an unhealthy one at that.

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls (above) , who employs Frost, said the world had moved on but the weighing room had not moved with it

British Horseracing Authority ready to push for major cultural change

The British Horseracing Authority has its work cut out to change the culture of the sport following the conclusion on the Bryony Frost case.

Even as the BHA was giving a press conference to welcome the findings of an independent disciplinary panel and discuss next steps, the Professional Jockeys Association was issuing a statement questioning the process and the idea that National Hunt racing has a problem.

‘This case has been a ground-breaking one for British racing, the first of its kind, and it is important that it acts as a catalyst for further change within the industry,’ the BHA said in a statement.

The authority tried to tread a fine line, emphasising the need for fundamental changes, while at pains to point out that there are lots of good people in the country’s weighing rooms and on its race courses.

‘We understand that, for the vast majority of those who work in the sport – and in particular in the jockeys’ weighing room – it is a positive, supportive, welcoming place. We recognise the pressures on those involved in the sport, and that temperatures will at times be raised.

‘However, there is a line as to what is acceptable. It is essential that when something does go wrong that people feel that they can call out bad behaviour, and not be made to suffer in silence. The independent Judicial Panel Chair voiced concerns regarding these issues in his judgement. We call on everyone in the industry to recognise this. ‘.

The BHA said work was well under way to change behaviour in racing, with a new Code of Conduct due in the New Year, the use of ‘jockey coaches’ who work with young riders, the development of new facilities to allow women and men to separate at courses and additional training and development of all racing staff.

The BHA has also said it will review its disciplinary process in light of this case.

Pressed on the PJA’s reaction to the outcome of the disciplinary hearing, Julie Harrington, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said: ‘I think it is really important it is greeted with a spirit of openness and this is not about pitting one part of the sport against another, this is about us trying to do the right thing for our sport in the long term to make sure we keep pace with what is acceptable and not acceptable in society as a while.’

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