Trainer just can't stop

For Kaikoura trainer Grant Anderson, training horses is a way of life, and one which he finds impossible to walk away from.

He has tried a couple of times, but when it comes to the crunch he just can't bring himself to stop.

"You really get a buzz from it like nothing else," he says.

"I just love horses and don't see myself stopping any time soon."

And why would he when he has all the ingredients still to make a success of it? Two of Grant's horses, four year old maiden pacer Cairnbaan and five year old C1 trotter He Trotts, ran on Monday at the Kaikoura races, driven by Ricky May.

With Grant's training and Ricky's reputation, he has sold a number of horses, predominantly to Australia.

Grant concentrates a lot of his efforts on racing at Addington, which is where his horses get the best exposure to the Australian market.

The last horse he sold, five year old Lyrical Star, went to Queensland just two weeks ago, and he hopes this will be another success story as he likes buyers to come back again.

Other successes in the 20 plus year training history of Anderson include Snowy's Passion and Patricia Midfrew, which won twice at the Kaikoura races.

Grant generally likes to work alone, also doing his own shoeing, as he prefers to take sole blame if something goes wrong or a horse is not up to scratch.

However he will soon be enlisting the help of Anna Thomas, an up and coming name in the field of equine sports therapy and the new president of the A and P Association.

With nine horses at his Inland Rd property, four of which are colts, he needs an extra pair of hands to work them all into shape. The property also boasts an 800m track on which he does 95 per cent of his training, and 10 stables.

Now just training, Grant was once a driver too, so he understands both aspects of the sport, and his son, Shaun, 23, is following in his father's footsteps with his junior licence.

Shaun could be one to watch in the future, although Grant is ensuring he concentrates on finishing his mechanics apprenticeship first before he gives up too much of his time driving.

Cairnbaan came 12th in the More FM Marlborough Mobile Pace and He Trotts also came 12th in the Kaikoura Building Centre ITM Handicap Trot.

- © Fairfax NZ News