In the heart of Lancashire's picturesque Ribble Valley, surrounded by grazing sheep and rolling hills, lies a 140-metre strip of plastic matting that defied the odds to produce Britain's greatest ever slalom skier. This is the unassuming home of Pendle Ski Club, the proving ground for Dave "Rocket" Ryding, who rose from its bristly surface to conquer the world's snow-covered peaks.
A Humble Beginning Amongst the Sheep
The club's modest slope, just 10 metres wide, features three small inclines and a flat finish, with grass often poking through its synthetic surface. Snow is a rare sight here, a fact true for much of Britain, which averages only 13 days of lying snow annually. Yet, this humble environment became the perfect incubator for raw talent.
John Holmes, an instructor and volunteer at the club, embodies its spirit. "It's a unique environment but it's one where you can succeed. You really can," he says. Ryding, who started lessons at age six wearing tracksuit bottoms, is living proof. He recalls the distinctive challenges of training on a dry slope, including friction burns from falls and the frequent, respectful pauses required for sheep wandering across from nearby fields in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Forging a Champion on Plastic
Ryding's journey from Pendle's short slope to the pinnacle of Alpine skiing stunned rivals from traditional winter sports nations like Austria and Sweden. His technique was forged on plastic, learning the fundamentals of weight distribution and edge control on a surface far less forgiving than snow. This, he believes, became his secret weapon.
"When I was first on snow — and still to this day — if there's a flat section or a particularly flat start to a race, then I'm very, very fast compared to most other people," Ryding explained to The Associated Press. The slope's length meant a run lasted barely 12 seconds, forcing a focus on explosive starts and technical precision that later defined his World Cup career.
His accolades are extraordinary: he is the only British winner in the near 60-year history of the Alpine Skiing World Cup, claiming a famous victory on the daunting Kitzbuehel circuit in Austria.
Inspiring the Next Generation
Now 39 and in the final weeks of his career, Ryding is a potential medal contender at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, his fifth and final Games. On 16 February, he will race in the slalom in Bormio, aiming to improve on his ninth-place finish from 2018 and win Britain's first-ever Olympic medal in Alpine skiing.
His legacy is already cemented at Pendle Ski Club. A large Union Jack flag bearing his "Rocket" nickname hangs in the clubhouse, next to a motivational photo of the skier himself. When he races on Sunday mornings, young members gather to cheer him on. "It shows it's possible for anyone," said 16-year-old member Jayden Cuttriss.
For Ryding, retirement is not an end but a new chapter. He aims to give back, using his unique pathway to help build a financial and coaching structure for future British champions. "No one has ever done it from the dry slopes before," he said. "If I can bring back the pathway that I took... I think I can make a big difference in that British skiing scene." His story, born on a plastic hill amidst the sheep, continues to inspire a nation with scant snow but boundless ambition.
