Medhurst was from a family that has spawned three generations of harness racing fanatics.

A few days after Medhurst finished his tenure at college he was on a plane to Melbourne and began a stint with Kilmore trainer Austin Mifsud.

But like many young teenagers before him Medhurst suffered from homesickness and spent only three months of an intended two-year stint at Mifsud's training complex.

"I was ready and raring to go when I got to Aussie's (Mifsud) place and it was really good at first but then I began to feel homesick," Medhurst said.

"The work was great and I was treated really well but I felt like I didn't know anybody and I began to get depressed."

"There's no use staying in a place if you can't settle."

"I was just too young. If I was to do it today it would be a whole lot different."

"While I was only away for three months I still learned a lot while I was there," he said.

With no school to attend and in need of income Medhurst took whatever jobs came along but it wasn't long before he picked up some work with his friend Marc Butler who trained a small team at New Norfolk.

"I worked some hours with Marc and I also did some work for my Pop (Fred Medhurst) and that kept me going," he said.

Medhurst was intent on making a go of training and about a year after he returned from Victoria he acquired an owner-trainer licence and set about buying a couple of cheap horses to train.

"I didn't have a lot of money but I was able to buy a couple of cheap horses that I thought might win me a few races and luckily that's how it panned out," he said

His first horse was Chloe's Princess but his first winner was Doctor Casey in a C0 at Burnie in April 2007.

"Chloe's Princess was my first horse and I learned a lot about training with her and made mistakes but I never made the same mistake twice."

Loaded To Run was Medhurst's next winner and he showed a lot of promise but was prone to injuries.

"I picked up Loaded To Run for $500 and I won with him in no time," Medhurst said.

"Had his legs been perfectly sound he would have gone through to open class but he has crook tendons," Medhurst said.

Loaded To Run won four for Medhurst but is currently in the paddock nursing a bowed tendon and might not make it back to the races.

A year ago Medhurst acquired an A-grade (public) trainer's licence and his stable at Brighton has since grown to a team of 11.

"Once I got my A-grade licence I felt I was on my way and while it's a slow process I am optimistic about where I'll be in 12 months."

"Horses have been a part of my life virtually from day one so to me this has been a natural progression."

"It's hard work and a lot of the time you don't get rewarded for the long hours you put it but that's just part and parcel of what training is all about."

"I've had a lot of good people helping me to get by, in particular my Dad (Zane Medhurst) Pop and trainer Phillip Ford."

"There have been many others who have helped me along ion some way and I am very grateful," he said.

Medhurst's stable at Brighton has 11 tenants of which seven are for outside owners.

"I set my sights on having a dozen in the stable by Christmas this year and we've almost achieved that goal, although four of them are part or fully owned by me."

Medhurst is closing in on 20 winners as a trainer but his driving record surpasses that figure, although he is intent on developing his training skills more than fine tuning his driving technique.

The future looks bright for Medhurst who has a coupe of young horses that might make the grade

"I've got a two-year-old colt by Fully Loaded from Thankyourluckystars that shows a lot of promise and I'm working a three-year-old filly by Topnotcher from Cleo Paige that also has above average ability."

"Ask any trainer and he or she will tell you that it only takes one real good horse to come into your yard to turn a business upside down."

"You can only do so much with rejects but if there's one thing I've learned more than anything else it is to have patience."

"There are plenty of things in this game that can give you headaches so it's just a matter of differentiating between the things that are worth worrying about and the things that are not," he said.

Medhurst has set his sights on becoming one of the top trainers in Tasmania and he knows it won't be a smooth road.

"Somehow I've got to get more quality horses in the stable and to do that you need to be successful. It's a bit of a vicious circle but I'm prepared to stick at it and work hard to make it happen," he said.

Quitting is not in Medhurst's vocabulary to which his loyal band of owners will testify.

"You've got to have good owners to kick on in this game and I'm working on that aspect of the business."

"Finding new owners isn't easy and they just never come knocking on your door, at least not until you've made it into the top echelon of trainers in this state," he said.

Peter STAPLES