Fiona CAMPBELL

Had she not been an Olympic skier, Fiona Campbell could have well been an Olympic equestrian rider, for she was riding ponies from the minute she could walk. Her love of horses saw her become a Pony Club instructor, a keen hunter, and great follower of the Turf, but it was skiing that attracted her competitive nature.

Born in Bermuda, where her father was stationed with the Army, Fiona and her family regularly went on winter skiing holidays, and after World War II, she developed a skill for competitive skiing. In 1950 she won the demanding 6.5 km downhill Cornergrat Ladies Derby at Zermatt, Switzerland. Her winning time was better than many of the competitors taking part in the men’s race. Had it not been for a heavy fall, Campbell may well have retained her title in 1951. The following year she was selected for the Olympics, and took part in the giant slalom and downhill. Campbell married an Irish-born doctor, Kenneth Gray, in 1953 and he practiced at Ampleforth in North Yorkshire. After his retirement in 1981 they moved to nearby East Harlsey where she built stables and realised her dream of breeding and racing horses. She took out a trainer’s licence and had several successes with a hunter chaser called New Formula, and after once seeing her daughter cross the line, albeit not as the winner, on the horse in the Foxhunter Chase at Aintree, she said “That was the most exhilarating thing I have done since the Olympics in 1952.”