Robbie Dunne ban for bullying Bryony Frost reduced to ten months on appeal

Robbie Dunne had his ban for bullying and harassing Bryony Frost reduced to ten months from 18 months, despite the appeals panel describing his behaviour as "reprehensible and disgraceful".

In December, Dunne had been found guilty of subjecting Frost to a campaign of bullying and harassment online, on the course and in the weighing room between February and September 2020 which culminated in a "promise" to "put you through a wing" after a race at Southwell on September 3, 2020.

The appeal against his convinction for conduct prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct and good reputation of racing was broadly dismissed, but chair Anthony Boswood QC said the appeal panel believed the "disciplinary panel gave insufficient credit for items of mitigation" such as an attempted apology at Bangor following a verbal altercation at Stratford in July 2020 during which Dunne is alleged to have called Frost a "f****** slut".

The appeal panel also stated that Dunne was found guilty of one charge of breaching rule (J) 19 rather than multiple breaches as had been ruled in the initial case, and that the penalty imposed in December was "severe".

'Insufficient credit for items of mitigation'

Boswood said: "We wish to make it clear that Mr Dunne's behaviour, we think, was reprehensible and disgraceful and any jockey behaving like that in future must expect serious punishment.

"We think [the original punishment] was severe given the number of rides Mr Dunne will have lost to date and will lose in the future at this late stage in his career.

"We also think that it may be that the disciplinary panel gave insufficient credit for items of mitigation such as his attempted apology to Bryony Frost after the Stratford race, and his willingness to participate in a 'banging of heads together' at Kempton that was facilitated by the jockey Richard Johnson after conversations with Bryony Frost's father.

"We have decided to reduce the period of suspension to ten months, the consequence of which is the suspension will end on October 9, 2022. We simply apply a period of ten months."

'However angry you are, you cannot use certain language. It's not an excuse'

During the BHA's argument against the appeal, Boswood had questioned the regulator's representative Louis Weston about the length of the original suspension – 18 months with three months suspended – and said: "It's very severe, isn't it? 18 months."

Boswood also queried the BHA's position that Dunne had shown little or no contrition for his actions during the period under scrutiny, citing the attempted Bangor apology and the rider's willingness to engage in a reconciliation at Kempton, which did not go ahead.

"Is it unreasonable not to show contrition or remorse in relation to an offence you say you didn't commit?," Boswood said. "He tried to apologise at Bangor and the apology was not accepted. I'm not criticising Bryony Frost for not accepting it, but he did try to apologise which seems to me to be a matter of mitigation."

Robbie Dunne (left): the jockey will be able to return to race-riding on October 9Credit: Edward Whitaker

Dunne's barrister, Robin Mathew QC, had set out to expose the original decision as being incorrect as the disciplinary panel had not given sufficient weight to the testimony of jockeys and valets who had been around the two jockeys during the period between February and September 2020.

"What we have are individuals who through their knowledge and experience can wholly discern whether there was a threat of harm as found by the tribunal," he said.

"There must be a genuine threat of harm and not something of upset anger and indignation after hurt which is what we say it was. The valets took a view, and I would submit, that they knew at Southwell that the upset and anger would pass. It is quite wrong to exclude the context of the weighing-room culture."

BHA representative Weston outlined how the use of "misogynistic language" was prejudicial to the reputation of racing, and that Dunne had engaged in victim blaming after his legal team reiterated an argument from the first hearing that Frost "was clearly moved to emotion quite quickly".

Weston said: "It's wrong for the appellant to say [Frost] is in some way to blame for this. To say to her that she was a woman who's moved to emotion quite quickly – there is no basis for this. It's not for the bully to determine to the bullied how to react.

"The appellant would have it that the proper test to apply is one of self-regulation, and that cannot possibly be right in the view of the BHA. It cannot be right to say there's some problem in adopting a contemporary standard of conduct. The alternative is a non-contemporary standard."

The reduction in penalty means Dunne will be able to return to race-riding on October 9 as opposed to March 9, 2023 as had initially been handed down in December.

In a statement at the conclusion of the hearing, the BHA said: "This reduction in penalty in no way diminishes the recognition of the severity of the allegations that were brought against Mr Dunne. Indeed, it continues to send a clear message that conduct of this nature cannot be tolerated in any working environment within our sport."

Neither Dunne, his legal representative or the Professional Jockeys Association responded to requests for comment.

Read more on this subject:

Robbie Dunne banned for 18 months for bullying and harassing Bryony Frost

Robbie Dunne rode in a 'deliberately intimidatory' manner against Bryony Frost

Read panel's damning verdict on Robbie Dunne's bullying of Bryony Frost

Who is Robbie Dunne? From struggling conditional to weighing room 'enforcer'

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