Bryony Frost (born 13 April 1995) is an English

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

from

Buckfastleigh Buckfastleigh is a market town and civil parish in Devon, England situated beside the Devon Expressway ( A38) at the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. It is part of Teignbridge and, for ecclesiastical purposes, lies within the Totnes Deanery. ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. In 2019 she became the first female jockey to win a

Grade 1 First grade (also called Grade One, called ''Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by re ...

race at the

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Rac ...

Background

Frost comes from a racing family. Her father, Jimmy Frost, is a trainer and former jockey who rode the winner of the

1989 Grand National The 1989 Grand National (officially known as the Seagram Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 143rd renewal of the Grand National Horse racing, horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 8 April 1989 ...

Little Polveir Little Polveir (1977–1999) was a race horse. He won the 1989 Grand National steeplechase ridden by Jimmy Frost, beating West Tip by seven lengths. The horse had previously finished ninth in 1986 and did not finish in 1987 and 1988 (where he ...

. Her grandfather, Richard Frost, was also a trainer. Her brother, Hadden Frost, is a former jockey who won numerous races including the

Pertemps Final The Pertemps Final is a Grade Three National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 ...

at the Cheltenham Festival on Buena Vista in 2010. Frost learnt to ride on a donkey, before winning multiple Devon and Cornwall pony racing championships.

Career

After competing in point-to-points, Frost had her first ride under rules, as an amateur, in February 2013. Two years later she had her first win under rules, riding Current Event, trained by Rose Loxton, at

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is Ol ...

. In 2016 she started to ride for trainer Paul Nicholls. Still riding as an amateur jockey, Frost won the

Foxhunter Chase Foxhunter (1940–1959) was a champion show jumping horse ridden by Harry Llewellyn, best known for their part in securing Great Britain at the 1952 Summer Olympics, Great Britain's only gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics (in the Equestrian at ...

at the 2017

, riding Pacha Du Polder, trained by Nicholls. She turned professional in July 2017 and later that month secured her first win as a

conditional jockey A conditional jockey is an apprentice National Hunt racing jockey in Great Britain or Ireland under the age of 26 who has not won more than seventy-five races under rules or had not won that many races within the last six months. A conditional joc ...

on the Nicholls-trained Black Corton at

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

. The novice chaser provided Frost with a further six victories. These included her first Grade 1 race, when the pair won the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

2017 and Frost became only the second British female jockey to win a top-class race over obstacles. In December 2017, Frost had her first ride on the Nicholls-trained Frodon, coming second in the listed Ascot Silver Cup. It was the start of a successful partnership, with the pair winning the Grade 3 Crest Nicholson Handicap Chase at

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

in January 2018. Frost had her first

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

ride in April 2018, coming fifth on the 25/1 chance Milansbar, trained by Neil King. In November 2018, Frost rode the Nicholls-trained Present Man to win the Badger Beers Silver Trophy at

Wincanton Wincanton ( or ) is a small town and electoral ward in South Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. The town and electoral ward has a populati ...

, repeating their victory of the previous year Later that month she rode out her claim, becoming only the fifth British based female jockey to achieve 75 wins over jumps. The 2018/19 season saw Frost resume her successful partnership with Frodon, with victories in the Grade 2

Old Roan Chase The Old Roan Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Mildmay Course at Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs ...

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. It i ...

, the Grade 3 Caspian Caviar Gold Cup and the Grade 2 Cotswold Chase, both at Cheltenham. In March 2019 the pair won the

Ryanair Chase The Ryanair Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs ...

and Frost became the first woman to win a Grade 1 race at the Cheltenham Festival. The following day

Rachael Blackmore Rachael Blackmore (born 11 July 1989) is an Irish jockey who competes in National Hunt racing. In 2021, she became the first female jockey to win the Grand National in the 182-year history of the race. She also became the first woman to be lea ...

won the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle. She finished the season on 49 winners and in April 2019 was awarded the British conditional jockeys title. In 2019, Frost was one of eight nominees in the BT Sport's Action Woman Of The Year Awards and one of six nominees in the Sunday Times Sportswoman of The Year Awards. The 2019/20 season saw a further victory for Frost and Frodon when they won the Grade 2

Silviniaco Conti Chase The Silviniaco Conti Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs (2 miles, 4 furlo ...

in January 2020 at Kempton. Frodon was beaten into fourth place in the Ryanair Chase at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival. In December 2020, Frost rode Frodon to victory in the

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of ...

at Kempton, becoming the first female jockey to win the race. Her win gave Frodon's trainer, Paul Nicholls, a twelfth win in the race. It was her 175th career win, making her the all-time leading female National Hunt jump jockey in Britain. In February 2021, Frost rode Secret Investor to win the Grade 2 Denman Chase at Newbury, defeating the two-time

winner horse, Clan Des Obeaux. In April 2021, Frost rode a big-race double at

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake in between. Together ...

, winning the Grade 2 Oaksey Chase on Frodon and the Grade 1 Celebration Chase on Greaneteen, also trained by Nicholls. The 2021/22 began with two more Grade 1 successes for Frost, with Frodon winning the

Ladbrokes Champion Chase The Ladbrokes Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Down Royal over a distance of about 3 miles (4,828 metres), and during its r ...

Down Royal Down Royal Racecourse is a horse racing venue near Lisburn in Northern Ireland. The most valuable race run there is the Ladbrokes Champion Chase, run at the Northern Ireland Festival of racing in November. The most valuable flat race to be run ...

in Ireland in October and Greaneteen winning the

Tingle Creek Chase The Tingle Creek Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles (1 mil ...

at Sandown in December.

BHA investigation

In September 2020, Frost lodged a complaint with the

British Horseracing Authority The British Horseracing Authority, also known simply as the BHA, is the regulatory authority for horse racing in Great Britain. It was formed on 31 July 2007, after the merger of the British Horseracing Board (BHB) and the Horseracing Regulato ...

(BHA) about bullying and harassment by jockey Robbie Dunne. The BHA opened an investigation in April 2021. In December 2021, the BHA announced that an independent panel had upheld the allegations against Dunne after hearing evidence from Frost, Dunne, and a number of other jockeys. Dunne was banned for 18 months, reduced to 10 months on appeal.

Cheltenham Festival winners (2)

- (1) Pacha Du Polder - (2017) *

- (1) Frodon - (2019)

Major wins

Great Britain *

- (1) Frodon (2020) * Celebration Chase - (1) Greaneteen (2021) *

- (1) Greaneteen (2021) Ireland *

- (1) Frodon (2021)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, Bryony 1995 births English jockeys Living people People from Buckfastleigh British female jockeys