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'I HAD TO MAKE A STAND'
Brave Bryony Frost opens her heart on abuse she suffered from rival Robbie Dunne after bullying case that rocked racing
BRYONY FROST opened her heart on the bullying case that has shamed racing and insisted: No one should be made to feel the way I was.
And the National Hunt star is furious she got absolutely NO backing from the jockeys’ union when she approached them with details of the abuse she suffered from fellow rider Robbie Dunne.
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Last week, Dunne, 36, was banned for 18 months, after a British Horse Racing Authority hearing into claims he abused and made threats of physical harm to Frost.
It was a near two-year timeline of torture for Frost, who is still stunned the Professional Jockeys Association gave her no support.
Now, in her only interview since last week’s verdict, the 26-year-old has lifted the lid on the whole scenario.
She revealed: “The world I was in was like ‘Take it on the chin, brush it under the carpet, it will be OK in time’.
“But it was increasing in momentum and getting worse.
“I’d work, I’d race, I’d come back and on to the next one.
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“There were times I thought life shouldn’t just be about day-to-day living. My last resort was taking it to the BHA. I knew it was never going to stop but I had to give something a go because it was getting worse.”
That was only after she had taken it to the PJA — and the reaction she got was anything but supportive.
'THERE MUST BE A LINE YOU CAN'T CROSS'
Frost added: “They weren’t there for me and their system isn’t good enough.
“I felt like an inconvenience. There was no care or interest from them even when it reached the stage of the hearing.
“They just basically said that time would fix it. They wanted to ignore it until it went away. I don’t feel they saw what I was going through as being as serious as it was.”
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At one stage the PJA put out a statement hoping the case would be dropped and after the verdict, chairman Jon Holmes would only admit he accepted: “Bryony felt she had been bullied.”
Frost added: “They were meant to be neutral, they weren’t there to pick sides.
BRYONY FROST: I COULDN'T FORGIVE MYSELF IF SOMEONE ELSE SUFFERED
“I was unaware of the statement wanting to drop the case, or the statement after the verdict.
“It wasn’t about me versus Robbie Dunne, or about girls having to back girls, or trainers having to back trainers.
“It was about human beings . . . there has to be a line you can’t cross.
“You’re not going to get on with everyone but it’s about treating people with respect and dignity.”
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