Competition entries are now open for the Devon County show, one of the major agricultural highlights of the year.

Held this year from May 18 – 20 in Westpoint, Exeter, the show is one of the South West’s most enduring annual events.

Beginning in 1872, this will be its 122nd rendition, and in previous years more than 95,000 people have attended.

The show will feature more than 600 livestock classes, including beef and dairy cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, alpacas and donkeys, at the three-day show.

In the equine section there are 170 classes and nine Horse of the Year Show qualifiers, which include Ridden Arabs for the first time.

New for this year are the Piétrain classes in the Pig division and Alpaca agility performance Classes on the Saturday.

Included among the people brought in to judge the various competitions are Elly Wentworth, a finalist of the BBC MasterChef The Professionals 2016 and Louis Kruger, an expert dog handler and breeder from South Africa.

A plethora of prizes will be awarded throughout the competition, the most prestigious equine prize being the Cuddy Qualifier, which takes the winner into the Cuddy Championship at the Horse of the year show.

The largest show jumping cash prize of £2,500 goes to the winner of the British Show-jumping Business Partnership ‘International Stairway’ class.

The County show is the flagship event of the Devon County Agricultural Association, which has played a leading role in the development of agriculture, education and the rural economy in Devon since its formation in 1872.