October 4, 2011: Country Smallholding writer Liz Shankland is celebrating after one of her sows – Audrey – won the title Tamworth Champion of Champions, making her the best Tamworth in the UK.

It’s the second year running that a sow from Liz’s Tudful Herd, based in Caerphilly, South Wales, has won the competition, which is fought out each year at the Royal County of Berkshire Show in Newbury. “I’m so pleased to win again, particularly after losing last year’s champion – Thisbe, my favourite pig – to a heart attack in March,” said Liz, the author of the Haynes Pig Manual. “This year’s winner is four years old now, and I’m hoping she’s going to keep on breeding and showing for a good while yet. I’d like to see her go on to compete in some of the veteran sow classes, which are designed to celebrate our older pigs and to encourage breeders to keep them to a ripe old age. I’d love to breed another one good enough to replace her, but she’s going to be a hard act to follow!”