HOGGING ATTENTION
THE TRIO ARE BRINGING HOME THE BACON ... ER, RIBBONS
Our Babes are all winners!
Slip, slop, slapping isn’t the first thing that springs to mind when discussing all things pig. But then King Curtis wasn’t any old hog. The large white is one of several boars that longtime friends – twins Catherine and Emma Sharpin and Annabel Askin – have exhibited since their compeitition debut at Christchurch’s A&P Show in 2017.
King Curtis was, as the three women put it, just “porker”. Unfortunately, he also needed bucket-loads of sunscreen to stop his light-coloured flanks from sunburn.
“It blew our budget,” says
Catherine with a laugh.
Lesson learned and the three women, who go by the syndicate name The Pork Pullers, are now looking to show only Berkshires, a rare breed of English domestic swine finding renewed favour among the culinary cognoscenti.
The trio all grew up on farms around Lowcliffe in mid-Canterbury. Their foray into hog handling followed an approach from the
Boar Breeders
Association (BBA), which was keen to get more females involved in competitions.
They didn’t need much convincing. The Pork Pullers was born and their first purchases, Boaratt, a five-month-old Berkshire, and Optimus Swine, a 130kg black and white saddleback, not only took the show ring by surprise, but Boaratt won them their very first ribbon.
The following year Liam Squealer, Hugh Grunt and King Curtis entered the circuit. Liam was trucked up to the Royal Hawke’s Bay Show and stunned veteran competitors after “trotting away with first, second and third placings in the purebred section”, says 28-year-old Emma, a senior sales rep for a rural retailer and the group’s HR, or hog relations manager.
Their success has continued with Stephen Porkings and Piggy Smalls, two purebred Berkshires they raised from weaners, bought for $200.
Porkings, a 100kg boar, won every round he was eligible for at the 2019 Christchurch show in November and was crowned 2019 Supreme Champion.
From all accounts, raising the beasts is a combination of hilarity and hard work.
Tells Annabel, 31, “The first
year we used my parents’ dairy farm to raise them. The old man said no when we asked, but sometimes it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than consent!
“Our parents thought we were nuts having our weekly meetings in the pig pen, drinking wine and eating bacon and egg pie.”
Annabel, a clinical exercise physiologist, is The Pork Pullers’ CEO – and the squeamish should look away now – or chief execution officer. She is, however, well aware of the swines’ mental health needs.
She explains, “Pigs need to be kept in twos or more as they are very social and
intelligent animals, and can get depressed if they’re in solitary confinement. We make sure the pig pen has a shelter hut, fresh water and plenty of space to move around and play. We often lead them to creeks or mud holes on hot days so they can bathe and cool off.”
Animal nutrition area manager Catherine is the syndicate’s PA, or pig analyst, responsible for keeping their charges in tip-top condition.
“We use a customised feeding and exercise training regime, similar to that of a high-performance athlete,” she boasts. “Their dietary regime includes a blend of protein and starch, so no household scraps! And to get the correct percentage of lean muscle to fat ratio, we use a combination of anaerobic and strengthbased training.”
Prior to show day, the pigs are meticulously groomed – washed, exfoliated, oiled, buffed and talcumed. The next job, says Emma, is getting themselves ready.
“We want to look classy and sophisticated, as the boys wear suit jackets and ties. Our vibe has been country chic each year, so we try and interpret this into our outfit choices.”
They’ve also become known for their pre and post-judge partying, spurred along by a not-so-sneaky espresso martini or Pimms.
“We have been the only girl syndicate in the show scene until last year and it hasn’t been easy to work our way to the top,” admits Emma. “We wanted to show other rural girls that it was something they could get involved with and have a laugh along the way. It’s a huge annual event on the social calendar – a bit like family Christmas, no-one ever wants to miss out.”
And speaking of Christmas, while the first of their show pigs was passed on to other breeders, several have ended up in the freezer, including
Piggy Smalls, who was last month’s Christmas ham.