Bryony Frost

Desert Orchid

Desert Orchid

Senior Jockey
Joined
Aug 2, 2005
Messages
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I stopped in at the bookies today to read the RP mainly to check over the reports of yesterday's racing but the Bryony Frost story caught my eye.

She comes across as someone with reason to have a proper perspective on life's ups and downs.

I think as a rider she has improved beyond recognition this season and the biggest compliment I can pay her is that, like Josie Gordon and a few other female riders, as well as several young male claimers, she doesn't look out of place among the guys in a race.

If her success helps bring a wider demographic to the sport so much the better.
 
It seems on the flat in Australia every other jockey is female. TBH I have backed more than a few not realising till after the race it was a woman on board
 
The wider media should just celebrate her as a jockey now and not play the gender card.

It's a tough enough business on its own without having the pressure of representing a movement
 
granger said:
The wider media should just celebrate her as a jockey now and not play the gender card.
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I agree but unfortunately that's not how this world operates.

granger said:
It's a tough enough business on its own without having the pressure of representing a movement.
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I got the impression from the article that she really couldn't give a flying fcuk about representing a movement.

Unfortunately for her, she'll probably need the media playing the gender card to keep her in the spotlight and facilitate continuing success. The down side of that is that there are lots of good off-the-radar riders who might be struggling because they don't get into the spotlight.

It will be interesting to see how young Bowen copes with the pressure of being acclaimed "the next AP" in today's paper. I didn't think he played too much of a part in Raz De Maree's win last week but he was tactically very good on William Henry yesterday, I thought.
 
Looks like Andy Stewart has irked Nicholls by saying Frost will ride Saphir Du Rheu in the Gold Cup, without consulting the trainer...
 
Her talent was described well yesterday, she balances over the right spot on a horse and they flow over jumps for her. It's early days, but it's interesting to note that her success rate over fences, at a very impressive 19%, is more than the double of her hurdles percentage.

She's one of a growing number of successful female riders, the best of luck to all of them and the fellas as well, they all need it.
 
I had the fortune to interview her a couple of times during her few season's pointing down here and she is just delightful. Initially I couldn't understand why she was just riding round at the back - suspected father was not running horses on merits at one stage!! But I hadn't realised her age and he was simply putting her on safe, sensible schoolmasters to give her the experience. I am so very pleased to see her doing so well - its lovely to watch them bridge the gap between pointing and professional racing with such well-deserved success.
 
She seems to be a very good judge of pace too judging by her rides on Black Cotton in particular and Milansbar on Saturday .

Nicholls has three excellent young jockeys in Cobden( who got Art Mauresque to jump and run out of his skin on Saturday), the constantly impressive Sean Bowen and Bryony Frost
 
Im fed up hearing about her tbh. Its not like she's getting a tune out of selling platers around sedgefield on a wednesday afternoon. My dug could ride winners for PFN, and she's got better hair.
 
Harsh, Digger, given male jockeys can't 'get a tune' out of a selling-plater either. That's why they're selling-platers.

Her strike-rate over fences is 19%, which is plenty handy enough. Noel Fehily has an SR of 20%, as a barometer of where she is. And it's not like she is constantly being put on the yard's best horses either, given the competition for rides from STD and Harry Cobden. Her LSP over fences is also -£8 from 113 rides, which suggests - contrary to your argument - that she is actually winning plenty of races on un-fancied horses.

Her strike-rate over hurdles is poor in comparison. Quite why that would be the case, I'm not so sure, but it again probably has something to do with competition for rides at the yard, and there may be a preference to put the more experienced jockeys on the better (but inexperienced) hurdlers, to give them an education.


All that said, I'm sick of hearing about her too. As others have said, she's good enough to just be treated as a jockey, without being treated as a 'female' jockey, or some kind of novelty item.
 
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Grasshopper said:
All that said, I'm sick of hearing about her too. As others have said, she's good enough to just be treated as a jockey, without being treated as a 'female' jockey, or some kind of novelty item.
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I haven't got to that stage yet. The racing media always go OTT with some claimer/girl for a while and it dies down in its own time. Her situation doesn't grate with me in the way that Pendleton's did. Yet.

It's when they lose their claim and then, professionally speaking, become just another jockey that for me they show their mettle.

Some end up in privileged retained positions, like NdB or Cobden, but what about the real grafters that, despite genuine ability, struggle to make ends meet.
 
Digger said:
Im fed up hearing about her tbh. Its not like she's getting a tune out of selling platers around sedgefield on a wednesday afternoon. My dug could ride winners for PFN, and she's got better hair.
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I'm bored with the hype too, [bit like the hype in Kerry about David Clifford being the 2nd coming) but I thought her performance on Milansbar was masterful. Especially as a shrewd judge I trust had recommended I back it.
 
Digger said:
Im fed up hearing about her tbh. Its not like she's getting a tune out of selling platers around sedgefield on a wednesday afternoon. My dug could ride winners for PFN, and she's got better hair.
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Offensively sexist Digger - unless you are perhaps going to give us your opinion of other jockey's haircuts ?
 
Grasshopper said:
Harsh, Digger, given male jockeys can't 'get a tune' out of a selling-plater either. That's why they're selling-platers.

Her strike-rate over fences is 19%, which is plenty handy enough. Noel Fehily has an SR of 20%, as a barometer of where she is. And it's not like she is constantly being put on the yard's best horses either, given the competition for rides from STD and Harry Cobden. Her LSP over fences is also -£8 from 113 rides, which suggests - contrary to your argument - that she is actually winning plenty of races on un-fancied horses.

Her strike-rate over hurdles is poor in comparison. Quite why that would be the case, I'm not so sure, but it again probably has something to do with competition for rides at the yard, and there may be a preference to put the more experienced jockeys on the better (but inexperienced) hurdlers, to give them an education.


All that said, I'm sick of hearing about her too. As others have said, she's good enough to just be treated as a jockey, without being treated as a 'female' jockey, or some kind of novelty item.
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I agree about her being treated as a novelty item but over jumps successful women jockeys do remain a rare phenomenon. Most of the best remain amateurs like Nina C and Katie W . She is clearly a much better jockey than Lizzie Kelly . Over hurdles it may well be the quality of horses there certainly was nothing wrong with her ride on Old Guard at Newbury .
 
Digger said:
Im fed up hearing about her tbh. Its not like she's getting a tune out of selling platers around sedgefield on a wednesday afternoon. My dug could ride winners for PFN, and she's got better hair.
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Not my cup of tea either but horses do run for her and she does know what she is doing.
I assume you are exaggerating about the hair? As for riding why didn't Victoria Pendleton win the Foxhunters like Bryony did if any fooker could ride the horses she rides?

The horse ran away with Pendleton at Worcester then she was given the ride in the Foxhunters and sitting there like a sack of potatoes she gave the horse a horrendous ride.

Bryony or another decent jockey would have won a minute.

It really is not that easy.
 
With posts like the above from Tanlic and Digger it is hardly a surprise there are so few women members left on this forum .
 
Interesting to see La Pendleton has completely disappeared from the Racing scene despite her assurance that she loved her horses and was in it for the long term. After having her fall at Larkhill when the horse went past me rapidly getting out of control, she disappeared through the wing of the downhill fence. Pretty shaking I am sure but no worse than what she would have suffered cycling. In fact she was able to walk unaided to vehicle that brought her back and I saw her chatting with the trainer afterwards with no indication that she had suffered any sort of a long term injury. Since then, zilch! Horses she had supposedly bought are now running in new owners colours. I was prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt after initially being extremely worried about her lack of experience around Cheltenham but it seems that the whole episode was a gimmick all along. I think she's climbing Everest? Seriously doubt we will see her back on the racecourse in a race.
 
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