GROWING up in the “moving statue” country of Ballinspittle, Co Cork, John Roche wasn’t sure of the exact life path he would take, but he never thought he would end up spending the majority of his life living in the USA as an American citizen.

Like many other Irish horse professionals who have gone to America to make a living, John’s name doesn’t appear in The Irish Field all too often, although, ironically, it was in last week’s international pages when Israeli show jumper Sydney Shulman credited his training system.