Horse absence leads to 'different' Canberra show

The Royal Canberra Show (RCS) kicks off today but it will be without horse events for the first time.
The outbreak of equine influenza and subsequent interstate movement restrictions forced the show to cancel horse competitions.
RCS chief executive Geoff Cannock says it is a big loss.
"We'll certainly miss the 6,500 people who would be associated with the horses and there's traders involved," he said.
"The horses used to be entertainment for people, horses were involved in so many things not just the competitive sections for instance - show jumping, campdrafting, tent pegging were features at night here."
But Mr Cannock says they are still expecting about 120,000 people to visit Exhibition Park over the weekend.
He says new entertainment is on offer to make up for the absence of horse events.
"We've had to get a bit more modern in a way and we've replaced them with things like wakeboarding...trail bikes...the Flying Lotahs, which are a traditional act," he said.
A new ferris wheel, dog 'drag racing' and woodchopping are other key attractions.
"There's going to be a lot of activity and it will be different activity," he said.
"So you'll see a very different show but you won't lose any of the traditions like the show bags and rides."

Record entries

Recent rain in many parts of New South Wales has lead to record entries in alpaca and goat competitions.
Mr Cannock says sheep entries are also strong, while the number of cattle is up 100 head on last year.
"Farmers have been able to - in most of New South Wales - stop supplementary feeding their animals which means they are buoyant at the moment. There's plenty of feed on a lot of properties," he said.
"I mean, the drought is not broken but there's certainly seed in a lot more paddocks than there was last year and that's reflective in our entry numbers.
"Prices have been very good in most of the rural products and so that gives people heart and confidence that maybe things are turning to the better."

Future funding

Mr Cannock says they are expecting a $300,000 loss this year, partly due to the loss of horse entry fees.
He says visitor numbers are also likely to be down about 10,000 from the usual 130,000.
"We hope to survive, we hope that Government [continues] to support us," he said.
"After all this is something that did escape from an Australian quarantine situation and should never have happened.
"But so far, both the Federal Government and the ACT Government have been very generous in helping us through the crisis."