Virginia Highlands Endurance Challenge, Pre-Ride

I was by myself for the ride this year.  Jessica wasn't sound in time to get into condition and my friend from last year is 8 1/2 months pregnant so it was just me and Hank and the open trail.

 It looked like I wasn't getting off to a very good start.  The hay net didn't seem to make it to camp with us.  I brought it out of the barn and I thought J put it in the truck, but it was no where to be found. J couldn't even find it when he went back to the barn later.  There were a couple of tack trailers but none of them carried hay nets and they were out of hay bags.  Looks like all of the other riders make little corrals out of step in posts and electric horse tape so they just feed off the ground.  But I didn't grow up with C for a sister for nothing.  I had enough twine to macrame a very small version of a hay net.  I worked but I had to refill it several times. 

 There was a set of horse scales and I weighed Hank at the check in.  He tipped the scales at 1135 pounds.  Most of the other horses (Arabians)  looked like 8-900.   There was a Percheron/QH cross that weighed 1460 but I'm not sure it finished on time.

 Hank got all A's on the check in score card.  The vet asked what he got into to get all those hives.  I had to explain they were solid tumors he's had since we got him.  At least five other people during the ride asked the same thing.

EG was our number.
 J unhooked the trailer and left me and Hank for the night.  Every time I woke up I looked at my new watch and was still never sure of the time.  Once it said 6:48 (still pitch dark) then the next time it was 6:03.    Then I think it went to military time.  At one point some horses cantered by in the dark and I just thought they had a strange warm-up routine.  Then later a group with flashlights came by looking for the loose horses.  Needless to say I didn't get much sleep but I was on the mattress in the trailer and not on the ground in a tent.