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BHA Bullying Hearing Day 2: ‘The Isolation I Felt For Speaking Out I Wouldn’t Wish On Anyone’

The British Horseracing Authority's hearing into the jockey's room bullying case brought by female national hunt jockey Bryony Frost against male rider Robbie Dunne entered its second day on Wednesday.

After opening statements from Frost's attorney on Tuesday detailed the nature of the charges against Dunne, Frost was on the stand for much of today's hearing and underwent heavy cross examination from Dunne's representative Roderick Moore, according to racingpost.com.

One of Moore's primary arguments was that other female jockeys had not spoken out about malevolent behavior from Dunne.

“The isolation I felt for speaking out I wouldn't wish on anyone,” Frost countered. “You are asking me for my opinion and they [the other female riders] have to go into the weighing room every day. I feel they are protecting themselves and, rightly so, staying neutral.”

Dunne faces charges for seven individual rule breeches: four for conduct prejudicial to racing, and three for acting in a violent or improper manner. He denies all but one of the charges.

The hearing will continue on Thursday, and three days have been blocked out for continuation next week, if needed.

BHA Bullying Hearing Begins: Frost Subjected To ‘Foul, Sexually Abusive And Misogynistic Language’ As Well As Threats Of ‘Serious Physical Harm’

Tuesday began the British Horseracing Authority's hearing into the jockey's room bullying case brought by female national hunt jockey Bryony Frost against male rider Robbie Dunne. Frost's attorney Louis Weston made his opening statement, reports The Guardian, telling the three-member panel that Dunne had used “foul, sexually abusive and misogynistic language” toward Frost as well as threats to “cause her serious physical harm.”

Weston detailed that the issues between Dunne and Frost could be traced as far back as 2017, when Dunne paraded himself naked in front of Frost in the weighing room. In another alleged incident in 2019, Dunne made mocking comments after Frost became emotional during a post-race winning interview.

In 2020, a quintet of specific dates envelop the current charges against Dunne:

On Feb. 13 at Leicester, Dunne is accused of calling Frost “a f***ing slag and a dangerous f***ing whore.”
On July 8 at Stratford, Dunne pulled his horse up near Frost's after a race and allegedly said: “you're a fucking whore … and if you ever fucking murder me like that again, I'll murder you.” (“Murder” in this context refers to cutting off a rival in a race)
On July 29 at Market Rasen, Dunne is alleged to have ridden over-aggressively toward Frost.
In early August at Uttoxer, Dunne is alleged to have said to Frost: “I'm going to stop you murdering everyone, I'm going to murder you.”
On Sept. 3 at Southwell, after Dunne's mount fell and was fatally injured, he is reported to have later accosted Frost in the weighing room, threatening her with physical harm: “the next time I ride against you, I promise I will put you through a wing [of a fence].”

Weston calls Dunne's alleged language “plainly offensive, plainly misogynistic and if tolerated by a sport's regulator, bringing it into disrepute,” and said “there is no excuse or justification for it, none at all.”

The hearing will continue on Wednesday, with Frost expected to give testimony.

‘Fallen A Long Way Short’? BHA’s Jockey Bullying Case Could Have Wide-Ranging Consequences

Tuesday starts the British Horseracing Authority's hearing into the weighing room bullying case brought by female jockey Bryony Frost against male rider Robbie Dunne. Racing broadcaster Nick Luck welcomed Daily Mirror journalist David Yates to his podcast, Nick Luck Daily, to discuss how this case could affect both the BHA and the industry as a whole, as well as the two jockeys.

Frost has been adamant that her reasoning for bringing this case is not a personal vendetta but rather a desire to change the weighing room culture for the generation that follows hers.

“If this case doesn't succeed, you can make your own judgement as to whether that culture is indeed going to change,” Yates said.

Dunne, who has been charged with three counts of alleged abusive or threatening behavior, faces a punishment ranging up to a three-year ban from the sport. Yates points out that since Dunne is 36 years old, that could effectively mean the end of his career.

As for the BHA, the way in which it has dealt with this case will be “held up to the light.” With leaks to the Sunday Times and the lengthy amount of time the process has taken, Yates suggests the organization will likely face judgement on its competency.

Perhaps the most wide-ranging consequences of this hearing are those that would touch the industry as a whole.

“Racing has quite rightly made much capital out of the fact that men and women in the sport compete on equal terms,” said Yates. “It rightly points out the progress that it feels has been made in leveling out what I think we would all agree was a very unlevel playing field to start off with. It's not just people who are interested in racing who are looking at this case. Again, it's very likely that were this case to show that there is a culture of bullying in the weighing room, for horse racing, all the work it's tried to do to level up between the genders over the last decade or so, it would be seen I think publicly that a lot of that work had either been undone or had fallen a long way short.”

Listen to the entire discussion on Nick Luck Daily.

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