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Bryony will remain vulnerable to further attacks, imo. This whole discussion won’t stop, fellow jockeys, trainers, valets and so from avoiding her. She is young, but very fragile and why shouldn’t she be?
However, nothing is ever going to change in this sport, no matter what the hearing will tell us in the end. All the big trainers keeping their mouth shut, is just further proof of how Horse Racing realy works. Nobody wants to come out and say anything, unpleasant things will be kept in the vault.
What is becoming clear is that it’s not just Dunne on trial, but a whole outdated, chauvinistic (misogynistic, even) bullying culture that has no place in any 21st century workplace.
It is VERY disappointing, but so symptomatic of the insularity of the racing industry bubble.
Even jockeys I have met and liked on a personal level are poised to defend Dunne – very, very disappointing.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Former champion jump jockey Richard Johnson, who retired in April, said that he had heard the phrase “put you through a wing” on a number of occasions and that jockeys would say things to each other “in the heat of the moment” that would otherwise be unacceptable.
He said: “I don’t think he said he promised to hurt her. If I’d have heard it I would’ve stepped in and stopped it. That’s a phrase I’ve heard a number of times but I’ve never seen [anyone] do it.
“All jockeys have said similar words to that or very close to that and used unpleasant words that you wouldn’t say in the cold light of day. In the heat of the moment every single person has said something that comes to them – every single person in the world has done this.”
Okay, so that’s just usual trash talk among jockeys….. Interesting
Asked by Louis Weston, representing the BHA, whether “in the 21st century it’s okay for one professional to say to another ‘you are a whore’, Johnson added: “Every jockey uses words that we would not think are acceptable in the cold light of day. I heard Mr Dunne speak with Ms Frost after the race [at Southwell last year] and it’s probably something that happens once or twice a day up and down the country.”
That’s even better…….
Thanks for that link patriot1. The Fontwell valets’ actions are childish and unprofessional in the extreme.
Show your resentment at being accused of accepting bullying behaviour… by further bullying behaviour! Amazing.
You’re welcome Marlingford.
Meanwhile the reaction within racing continues to beggar belief.
https://twitter.com/DiHobbs/status/1468275192925495302
My last day riding at Cheltenham my valets/friends looked after me for over 20 years miss hanging out with them pic.twitter.com/bPAjU7FCHd
— AP McCoy (@AP_McCoy) December 7, 2021
Sad and surprising to hear Richard Johnson implying there was nothing particularly concerning about Dunne calling Frost a whore.
Well, then we must all admit that they’re whores in some. Bryony, Rachael, Page and so on…
Seldom in the history of racing can so many people have backed the wrong participant in a match.
It’s like the crew of the Titanic closing ranks to defend the captain.
I am beyond being surprised by any of it now – it is time to simply get a bucket of popcorn and sit back and watch this car crash movie reach its denouement.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"In the end, it’s just a matter of education, I guess. How many of them have finished some sort of school? Any percentages available?
It also explains why so many of them have no problems hitting a horse. Too many jockeys seem to show less respect for any creatures. No matter if a female jockey or an equine athlete, it’s a general attitude among them.
It doesn’t matter if you (i.e. senior and other jockeys) think vile/hurtful comments made to someone should be viewed as ‘weighing room banter’ just because others may have taken it as such, it only matters how that person being subjected to said comments at the time views it. If they say it is bullying then it is and even if they thought it wasn’t the very least they should have done is spoken personally with Bryony (in private if necessary) and not just assumed that because she may not have reacted outwardly that it wasn’t a problem.
If the actions of those valets is true then they quite clearly are condoning her treatment because the last thing you would do is refuse to work with the person making bullying claims if you don’t want the public to think you condone her treatment – there should be some form of punishment for them if what they did is true.
I am also fast losing respect for both Johnson and McCoy’s responses on this matter – clearly they are part of the problem and it is a good job that they are now ex-jockeys and no longer part of the weighing room as they clearly lack the ability to be true leaders on this issue…it is just unfortunate that it would appear a lot of the other jockey’s still in the weighing room have learnt all to well from their apathy/inaction.
I fear that it will be a case of the more things change the more they stay the same as the jockeys by and large seem more overly concerned/put out about being called in to speak on the matter than being at the forefront of change for the betterment of all within the weighing room. Very sad.
Anybody from outside racing must be watching this and thinking that their kids are going no where near horse racing. Frost complained over and over again and everybody just closed ranks. Its such a bad look for racing and so disappointed in guys like Johnson as to the message its giving out. Its shouldn’t be a matter of whose camp your siding with. Dunnes behaviour in any other walk of life is totally unacceptable. Only in racing is it Considered OK. I worry this will makes yards staff shortages worse. Due to covid folk are moving jobs a lot more and I can see many leaving racing after this farce.
Oh dear me – it’s the complete lack of awareness that staggers me. I knew the sport was rather insular – but it’s far worse than I ever thought.
It’s 2021 – you can’t talk to colleagues in that way – I reckon even 10-15+ years ago you’d have been in front of HR in most other industries. The old ‘banter defence’ doesn’t wash – both people laugh at banter; this isn’t.McCoy is seemingly blocking lots of people who disagree with his spectacularly ill-timed tweet. Fingers in the ears will not work here though. The more people that now try to shush this and make it go away, the more attention it will get.
I don’t doubt for a moment that the valets are a huge support to those in the weighing room in many ways, but today’s actions show that they too are part of a culture that badly needs to change.
No doubt Bryony deserves justice in regarding certain allegations. But the lack of support from anywhere is alarming why is she so unpopular? Surely these insiders know something the public don’t?
I can see your line of thinking James but, based on the balance of evidence I’ve seen so far, it seems more likely that the insiders know they will get ostracised just like Frost if they speak out. It seems telling that the only other female jockey willing to speak out no longer worked in the industry.
It’s not easy to speak out against bullying. I did so when I worked for the NHS. Even though the bullying made me ill, speaking out against it made me even worse. I didn’t get anywhere because the NHS, like racing, closed ranks. I think many of us have been bullied in the workplace at one time or another and I bet no one has got anywhere with complaining about it.
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