Devon County Show gets under way

This year's event will be the 128th Devon County Show

About 100,000 visitors are expected to attend the Devon County Show over the next three days.

The 128th show is being held at Westpoint Arena and Showground in Clyst St Mary, near Exeter.

The show involves a range of agricultural activities and contests, as well as more than 2,000 animals.

Show president Michael Caines said it was "really great to see the show growing".

Show president Michael Caines said: "There's an incredible network of people all working together to put on this incredible show"

The Exeter-born chef, who is the holder of two Michelin stars, said it was "a real honour" to take on the president role for this year's show.

"It's a feeling of immense pride and I feel a great amount of gratitude to the county of Devon and to be given the honour of the president of the Devon County Show just fills me with a huge sense of pride," Mr Caines said.

"There's an incredible network of people all working together to put on this incredible show and we're all interlinked.

"We've got volunteers, we've got fathers, grandfathers and the next generations coming through - it's so great to see the show back after Covid. Numbers are up, stock is up and it's really great to see the show growing."

About 100,000 people are expected to attend the 2024 Devon County Show

Patrick the pony officially opened the show.

Owned by Kirk and Hannah Petrakis, Patrick is a therapy pony that visits hospitals and retirement homes.

Mr Petrakis said the pony had helped raise thousands of pounds as the mascot for the War Horse Memorial and the purple poppy - a symbol of remembrance for animals lost in service.

Because of this, a local councillor bestowed the title of the Mayor of Cockington on the pony, Mr Petrakis explained.

Adrian Graham said stroking the giant tortoises was "relaxing and beneficial"

During the three days, there are eight Aldabra giant tortoises on display that showgoers are encouraged to meet.

Their keeper, Adrian Graham, said: "Visitors have the chance to get hands on and give them a bit of a stroke and a tickle, find out a bit more about them and the conservation work."

Devon County Show confirmed numbers in excess of 96,000 attended the event in 2023 and it hopes there will be 100,000 this year.

People travelling near the show have been warned by Devon County Council's highways department to expect traffic delays.