Ruby Walsh: 'At times somebody has to tell someone else to sit down and shut up'

Ruby Walsh spoke about the conduct of the weighing room after the independent disciplinary panel ruling against Robbie Dunne and said at times jockeys have to tell somebody to "sit down and shut up".

During the hearing, the weighing room culture was described as "rancid" by BHA counsel Louis Weston, a claim challenged by the Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) in a statement following the announcement of Dunne's 18-month suspension on Thursday.

As well as criticising the BHA investigation and the disciplinary panel, the PJA statement said Frost "felt" bullied, which led to a headline in the Times suggesting the jockeys' organisation had 'backed' Dunne.

The PJA chairman Jon Holmes repeated the use of the word "felt" when pressed by ITV Racing on whether Frost had been bullied but he defended the organisation and said changes were under way.

Dunne banned for 18 months for bullying and harassing Bryony Frost

Several jockeys reportedly boycotted media interviews over what they felt was an unfair representation of the weighing room. Dunne, who was at Cheltenham on Friday, has seven days to appeal against the ruling, following the receipt of written reasons.

"Based on the evidence surrounding this case, to say that the culture is rancid is an easy accusation to make," Walsh told ITV Racing. "Do I think that's the culture of the entire weighing room? Certainly not.

"That said, you have a room full of competitors and rivals. They're not all friends, nor should they be, but they represent the image of the sport and they have to uphold that. There will be rows but at times somebody has to tell somebody else to sit down and shut up. That doesn't appear to have happened. That's what went wrong.

"You have to use words like 'I'm sorry'. That's part of any altercation and in sport they'll always happen but you have to go and apologise. They're simple words. Then somebody has to reassure the person who was heckled not to worry about it. That's how the weighing room should work but it stopped working, which is the problem."

Mick Fitzgerald: 'You can't alter the past but you can change for the future'Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Former jockey Mick Fitzgerald, a PJA board member, discussed what the PJA needs to do to avoid a repeat incident, and said: "We must emphasise that change is happening and that the code of conduct that has been brought in – and will be displayed in every weighing room – means every jockey knows what's expected from them.

"We wanted a visible presence so any rider, with any grievance, can seek help and get things sorted so we don't reach a situation like this one. You can't alter the past but you can change for the future."

Holmes pointed out several changes the PJA has made in the last year, most notably introducing a code of conduct for all jockeys.

"I have to say, when I first took the job, before this all emerged, I was rather astonished that racing and the PJA didn't have a code of conduct. We now do and every jockey has seen that. It will be displayed prominently in weighing rooms all over the country."

Comment: weighing room culture allowed a poisonous situation to fester – it must change

While acknowledging there may be "isolated incidents", Holmes defended the culture of the weighing room, despite the concerns of the independent disciplinary panel it was "deep-rooted and coercive".

"I understand how it's been portrayed in the media and I know the reason behind that," said Holmes. "In the main, these people are professional, hardworking and decent. There's obviously isolated incidents but I won't go into that now as there may be an appeal.

"In every sport, we're examining where we are, looking at our conduct, the way we administrate and handle player associations. We've made changes but I also have to stand up for my members."

When asked if he accepted the finding that Frost had been bullied, Holmes added: "It's subject to appeal so I can't go into the case but I accept she felt bullied, absolutely. She's one of our members and we offered help in the first place through Dale [Gibson] and Paul [Struthers]. I spent a lot of time on the phone with her – I couldn't do it in person due to the pandemic. We'll continue to offer her our help and I know Dale has already attempted to reach out to her."

Julie Harrington: BHA chief executive was questioned on the PJA's claim that it had lost faith in the regulator and the disciplinary panelCredit: Steve Davies

The BHA's chief executive Julie Harrington, who also rejected the claim the weighing room culture was "rancid", was questioned on the PJA's claim that it had lost faith in the BHA and the disciplinary panel.

"The independent judicial panel is just that, it's independent of the BHA and has legal experts who can form an opinion," she said. "Its record in finding for and against the BHA speaks for itself.

"We work closely with the PJA on a number of matters. Inevitably there will be times when we're on the opposite side of the table. It's important to remember they were representing both parties in this case and we'll continue to have an open dialogue with them and make sure we both gather learnings from this case for the future.

"I spoke to Jon Holmes this morning and we agree it's important to acknowledge the weighing room is a hugely positive environment 99 per cent of the time but we must take action in the minority of cases when it just isn't working for somebody. We have to show we'll support and pursue poor behaviour where it exists.

"Steps are being made. People will naturally feel defensive when an environment they cherish is being criticised but I hope with a bit of perspective people are keen to use this as a catalyst for further improvement."

Read more on this subject:

BHA chief rejects 'rancid' picture of weighing room but says racing must change

'Absolute disgrace' – jockeys' body slams BHA over weighing room claims

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

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