Frost deserves a fair hearing and PJA intervention helped nobody

EVEN an intervention filled with the best of intentions can add fuel to a fire that is increasingly spiralling out of control.

The Professional Jockeys Association were right to say that the British Horseracing Authority’s handling of Bryony Frost’s allegations of bullying by fellow rider Robbie Dunne has been poor and has dragged on for far too long. But dropping the case altogether? Certainly not.

The least Frost deserves is a fair and full hearing. One suspects that she may now get neither. The PJA’s intervention this week resulted in some experienced jockeys to feel the need to come out and defend the culture within the weighing room in both the Flat and National Hunt game.

It’s ludicrous to suggest bullying might be commonplace in the changing room but it’s equally naïve to think that everyone plays happy families with each other. If you stood two furlongs or two fences from home at any racecourse meeting, then you’ll likely hear all sorts of insults being banded around as jockeys seek the right line and space to win the race.

Incidents and accidents will happen. Perhaps, someone will need a few stern words in the immediate aftermath as a result of their actions on track. When the bell rings for the next race, then everyone ought to move on. This is professional sport, after all.

Instead, an incident that should have been nipped in the bud the same day has festered for years.

The leaked 120-page BHA report indicates that Dunne’s bullying of Frost was not an isolated incident. It appears to be sustained intimidation of a colleague. Most worryingly, the PJA’s call for the case to be dropped entirely leaves Frost (pictured) even more isolated. For a sport that has PR problems at the best of times, it’s another own goal.

It’s possible to defend the culture of the weighing room as a whole and provide Frost the support/fair hearing her allegations deserve. She is a popular figure that resonates outside the sport and has won three Grade Ones in the King George, Ryanair Chase on Frodon and she partnered him to victory in yesterday’s thrilling Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal.

Whatever the outcome of this bungled case, it will take a lot of time for the wounds to heal.