Saturday, January 27, 2024 – Another Busy Day at the Hokey Pokey

Hiya Babe,
Had a terrible night, just couldn't seem to get to sleep for hours, so when my alarm went off, I was barely rested with just a few hours sleep, but I had too much to do to think about it. Got the horses fed and chores done, had a quick breakfast, then got busy setting up the area for the event today. Filled up both water tank, with thanks to the camper that helped me wrestle the fire hose, then started organizing the crews that were arriving, followed by the vets and the volunteers. Jo was signed up for the 75 mile ride today, but arrived a good half hour earlier than expected, as she tagged along with some other 100-miles riders. Everything ran smoothly at the vet stop, so much so that I finally decided I could free myself up to go check on water. At the first stop, there were two 100 gallons tanks, one was down to about a quarter, the other was still full. I brought the first one up to about halfway, figuring that would be enough for the returning riders, then check all but one of the other stops, only to discover they had barely been touched! While it was a hot day, there was still lots of water on the trail, so I guess most of the horses were happy with that. After I finished my rounds, I went back to Tidewater and hung around for the afternoon. Jo showed up early again, she was really pushing to keep up with the other horses, and unfortunately, the result was that she got pulled. Her horse Luna just wasn't metabolically stable enough to justify her continuing, sorry to say. Jo knew she should have slowed down, but failed to listen to the little voice in her head. Anyway, she did manage to get 50 miles in, so she was pretty whipped. I helped her break down, then headed back to Black Prong, which looked pristine. They did a great job cleaning up, you'd never know all those horses were here today! Settled in for the evening to an episode of Eureka and a rom-com movie, sure hoping I get a good night sleep tonight! I better, I have a lot to do tomorrow, as I offered to help with ribbon removal, and the ride managers finally seemed more enthusiastic about how I can help, so I'll be busy. It's supposed to rain a lot tonight, and we already had one ten minute downpour, but it should be clearing up tomorrow. Met a lot of folks who now know me through the Friends of Goethe Forest Facebook group, including one of the group's founders, who all seemed to be grateful the updates and information I've been posting. Nice to be appreciated! Anyway, quite ready for my shower and bed, already did my Spanish lesson earlier today, so I'm ready! Good night, sweetie! Love you!