Sydney's Easter Show kicks off

SYDNEY (AAP) - April 14 - The country's come to the city in a big way once again with the Royal Easter Show drawing thousands of people in its opening hours.
The 14-day event, which began on Thursday, kicked off with impressive crowds at the show jumping and cake, fruit and flower displays, while thrill seekers screamed from fast moving, high flying objects.
Sideshow alley was in full swing by lunchtime, thanks to the school holidays but the exhibition halls were also packed.
Doug Crowell, a Tamworth farmer representing the NSW Central district, was back for his 40th time.
Standing in front of a display of granny smith and delicious apples, he said comradeship and competition kept bringing him back.
"We're all good friends," he said of fellow farmers at the show.
A group of pre-teen girls from the NSW Central Coast were visiting for the first time.
"I'm so excited. I want to go on all the big rides," 10-year-old Paige Devlin told AAP.
Asked if she was at all scared, her sister Abbey, eight, yelled: "No!"
Accompanied by their mother Cheryl, they were joined by friends Ella Brooke, 10, and Jasmine Jones, eight.
Ella said she wanted "to do everything", while Jasmine said she was keen to see the dogs.
Older children screamed on the Ali Baba, a ride consisting of a horizontal gondola and a 360-degree swinging pendulum.
Other fast and scary rides include the traditional roller coaster and a spinning coaster.
For folks wanting something more gentle, the cake and floral displays provided appropriate entertainment.
There were wedding cakes fit for Prince William and Kate Middleton, and others with childlike themes.
A storybook cake featuring Red Riding Hood and a wolf took out first prize for the most creative miniature cake while a cake in honour of CS Lewis' book, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, won third prize in the Creative Sugar Art section.
One of the biggest attractions this year is Fonzy, a giant Holstein steer.
Born and bred in Singleton, NSW, he is nearly two metres tall and weighs well over a tonne.
On the eccentric side, there's a Psycho Sideshow, featuring a space cowboy and Goliath, the world's smallest strongman. Promoters say he is able to lift someone three times his size.
Nationals leader Andrew Stoner said the show, which was first held in 1823, was the largest annual event in the Southern Hemisphere.
"It is a wonderful opportunity for kids who live in the city to learn first-hand how fruit, vegies and milk end up in the supermarket," he said.
About 900,000 people are expected to walk through the gates between now and the final day of the show on April 27.