From PK to Beijing, the Olympic spirit’s alive and well at PK

Story by Steve Nussbaum | Photos contributed by Valerie Gribble

This past February, the Winter Olympics in Beijing took on a bit more meaning for a local family.

Viewers in the PK area who tuned in to watch the pairs figure skating competition might have seen the name of one of the competitors, Ashley Cain-Gribble, and thought, “That sounds familiar.â€

They would be right for thinking that. She’s the daughter-in-law of Daron and Valerie Gribble, who are longtime residents in The Cliffs, and her husband is Dalton Gribble, who grew up coming to the lake.

Cain-Gribble has been skating her whole life. Her parents, Peter and Darlene Cain, are coaches for their daughter and her skating partner, Tim Leduc.

Peter Cain competed in pairs figure skating in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid with his partner and sister, Liz Cain. He helped carry the Olympic torch – which he still has – in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and he was a technical specialist in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Darlene Cain works and trains students who aspire to compete in the Olympics.

Cain-Gribble and Leduc are two-time U.S. champions. They won their second U.S. championship in Nashville in January, securing their spot on the U.S. Olympic team in the process. This year marked the first time the duo has competed in the Olympics.

Cain-Gribble and her husband live in Fort Worth and have been married for a little more than three years. Her father-in-law describes the couple this way: “You can’t find two people from more different worlds.â€

Dalton Gribble is in the oil business in West Texas. His wife, meanwhile, trains for skating six days a week and travels the world skating. As Daron Gribble jokingly said: “While Ashley is headed to Paris for an event, Dalton heads out to Midland.â€

The younger couple met at a sushi restaurant in Fort Worth, but Dalton Gribble said he had no idea his wife-to-be was a world-class figure skater. He said he looked her up on Instagram, saw her posts about skating and immediately thought to himself, “I’ve got no chance.â€

Love persevered, though, and the rest is history.

The Gribbles said they have thoroughly enjoyed following their daughter-in-law on her journey of a lifetime. Her husband is her biggest fan and loved watching her reach her goal of becoming an Olympian.
In January, during the U.S. national figure skating finals, the Gribble clan gathered at Second Rodeo Brewing in Fort Worth with several friends from the Possum Kingdom Lake area to celebrate a birthday.

While at the bar, Daron Gribble asked the bartender to change the channel to figure skating. The bartender looked at him and said, “We’ve never had anyone ask to change channels to watch figure skating.â€

When they found out why he had made the request, the employees obliged and changed the channel, and they even set the group up so everyone had a good view of the screen.

By the end of the night, 150 people in the bar were watching the screen, and the bar went silent for four minutes while Cain-Gribble and her partner were on the ice. The pair skated to perfection, and the crowd in the bar went crazy with hugs, high-fives and chants of “USA!†because they had achieved their goal to become Olympians.

Cain-Gribble spent three weeks in Beijing training and living under a strict COVID-19 pandemic protocol. She and her husband would talk to each other each day, when one was just getting up and the other was going to bed.

Cain-Gribble and her skating partner competed on the last two days of the Olympics. After the first day, the skating duo were in seventh place with hopes of making the medal round.

For the longer free-skate event, the Gribbles conducted a watch party at their home in The Cliffs that began at 5 a.m. because of the time difference between China and the United States. About 25 close friends arrived early to watch the final skate live, and the Gribbles fixed breakfast for all those who showed up. Many in the group were still in their slippers and pajamas, but they all wanted to be there to share in the excitement.

When the time came for her daughter-in-law to perform, Valerie Gribble said she jokingly told her guests, “Don’t talk to me for four minutes.â€

Dalton Gribble, meanwhile, sat next to his dad at the dining room table, watching the skating pair’s every move. His wife and her skating partner ended up finishing in eighth place, but the roomful of friends couldn’t have been prouder.

When Cain-Gribble isn’t skating, which is very rare, she and her husband love to come to Possum Kingdom Lake, and she loves to take in all PK has to offer. The couple loves to go boating, water skiing, jet skiing, kayaking, hiking, fishing and golfing when they’re together.

Daron Gribble also recalled a time when he took his daughter-in-law out to the golf course at The Cliffs, and she hit a beautiful iron shot about 150 yards. What was remarkable is that it was the first time she had ever picked up a club, he said.

Daron and Valerie Gribble are thrilled that their daughter-in-law loves all things PK, and that their son loves to bring her out to Possum Kingdom, where they can hang out at Hell’s Gate and enjoy an adult beverage lakeside at the Lush Resort.

Possum Kingdom Lake attracts people from all over, and the beauty of the area makes visitors want to come back, even those who have traveled the world competing in sporting events. For a couple of weeks, too, the Olympic flame shone bright for the Gribble family.