Singapore-based ex-pat Kiwi trainer Donna Logan is revelling being back in New Zealand for the first time in over three years.
Logan and husband Peter Woods took advantage of the relaxed border status for New Zealanders living overseas to return for a two-week break from her training duties in Singapore to catch up with family and friends they haven’t seen since before the COVID pandemic hit back in early 2020.
“With the restrictions being lifted gradually back at home and the new border rules for New Zealand, Pete and I decided we would try and come back for a holiday,” Logan said.
“It’s our first time back here for over three years and we have been loving being back.
“Not much has changed in that time, but the ability to see our families and some old faces that we have really missed has just been magic.
“We have even managed to go to race meetings at Ruakaka and at Matamata, which seems pretty strange seeing as you would think we would want to stay away from racing to recharge the batteries, but the race days gave us the opportunity to see so many people in the same place at the same time which was just wonderful.”
With Mark Walker moving back to New Zealand to take up the helm at Te Akau Racing’s Matamata base, Logan is currently integrating her stable with the Te Akau runners and staff that are continuing on in Singapore.
“We’ve been given a fantastic opportunity with Te Akau Racing and presently we are in the early stages of getting everything gelled together,” she said.
“Mark has left some massive shoes to fill and we have a challenge ahead of us, but the way things have gone so far, I’m delighted with how it is working out and I’m confident we are going to make a real success of it all.
“On Saturday we had a winner and three thirds, so the morale will be high and the staff should be justifiably proud of that achievement.
“We ended up with just over seventy horses with the amalgamation and you are only allowed sixty, so we have managed to move on a few of the older ones who had met their mark and we are now sitting at the right level.
“With a number of race day restrictions lifted I’m also really excited to have our owners coming back to the races and for our future prospects.
“When you own a horse and you can’t go and see it train or race it soon takes away any enjoyment in the sport, so I think we will see a real boost to numbers now we are getting back to normality.
“I can also feel a lift in society in general with people now far more positive about their lives, which can only be good for the country as a whole.”
Logan and Woods will return to Singapore later this week and have some very important tasks to perform before they head back on Thursday.
“We are just getting ready to go out fishing as the snapper are really biting at the moment,” she said.
“We’ve bought a couple of chilly bins to take back with us and I’m hoping to have them filled with plenty of kiwi delicacies that you can’t get back there.
“One of the staff rang me on the weekend and I told them we were planning to bring back a few surprises and they said it would be just like Christmas and they are counting down the sleeps until we get back.”
