ANOTHER owner/rider to score on the double at Tattersalls July Show last weekend was Stamullen’s Louise Duffy who won the qualifier for the Irish Horse Welfare Trust Thoroughbred Club working hunter series on a lovely Saturday morning and the final, in heavy rain, on Sunday afternoon.

Her partner was the French-bred 14-year-old gelding Arvika Ligeonniere who won 10 races when trained by Willie Mullins, including four at Grade 1 level.

As well as recoding numerous successes in the show ring since retiring at the end of the 2013/14 National Hunt season, Arvika Ligeonniere has adapted well to his career as an event horse. He powered around the cross-country in the CCI2*-L at Tattersalls earlier this year and is being aimed at the international in Millstreet later this month.

Second in Saturday’s qualifier was the Dot Love-owned and ridden Heisacoolhand, a 14-year-old Great Palm gelding who won just a single point-to-point. He too has had a second career beyond the show ring as he has been evented, hunted and hunter trialled by his owner as well as some young riders.

In finishing first in the qualifier, Duffy was presented for a second time with the George Mernagh memorial trophy having won it first on the Montelimar gelding Assessed who, too, had been previously trained by Willie Mullins.

Disappointingly, just two horses completed the course in Sunday’s final of the working hunter series, with Louise Lyons finishing second on last year’s Dublin champion, Don Cossack, the now 12-year-old German-bred gelding who won 16 races on the track.

His final success in the colours of Gigginstown House Stud came in the 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup when he was trained by Gordon Elliott.

Earlier on Sunday, when Lyons was occupied elsewhere, Jane Davis partnered Don Cossack to finish second in the IHWT Thoroughbred Club retrained racehorse show series qualifier.

Here the winner was the Aaron McGrane-owned and ridden Andiamos. Another graduate of Willie Mullins’s Closutton yard, this now 12-year-old Beneficial gelding failed to win in 20 starts but has shown a lot more promise when competing in the showring and in Riding Club activities.

The Amarillo Kid

In the afternoon’s final, which was sponsored by Tattersalls, the honours went to Aileen Dwyer riding the Milan gelding The Amarillo Kid.

The now 14-year-old bay, who was trained by the late William Codd when winning a point-to-point and four races on the track, finished third under Dwyer at the RDS last August.

As owner and regular rider Ruth Cody was due to have surgery on her back this week, Noel Callaghan received permission to ride her 11-year-old Definite Article gelding, Smokey Bay, in the final. The new combination did extremely well to finish second.

Smokey Bay had a very short career as a racehorse, finishing second-last of 10 in one run in a bumper as a six-year-old.