anyone doing the Kenlyn Urban Challenge? and conditioning question

[Marlene Moss <MARLENE.MOSS@WCOM.COM>]

I'm minutes away from filling out the entry form for my first ever endurance
ride.  This is the Kenlyn Urban Challenge in Denver.  I'm probably going to
do the 15 mile ride, just as a conditioning ride for my horse.  She has been
in a chiropractors care for a couple months, so I'm getting a much later
start on conditioning than I wanted.  But she was in good shape before, so
she might even be ready for the 25 - I'm probably the one that will have the
hardest time!

I was wondering if anyone on this list was doing this ride that wouldn't
mind helping me make sure I'm in the right place at the right time and not
doing something stupid like getting lost or something else equally stupid?

Also, a question about fitness:   From what I've read of different training
schedules, it seems that I will be able to get her heart and muscular system
in good shape (for the type of riding that I plan this summer) in about 3
months.  But tendons and bone structure etc takes longer and requires lots
of LSD.  I am not planning on doing anything huge this summer, rather work
on conditioning all summer to make up for what I didn't get to do this
winter/spring.  But the question I have is that this mare has competed
before and had at one point done all the LSD work to be structurally in
shape to handle this - how long does that condition last?  I sort of expect
that to last longer than muscle and cardiovascular ability???

I've had this mare for somewhat over a year in which we've worked on
dressage, weekend trail rides and she's always been fairly active in a large
pasture.  Would she have completely lost all the work that had been done
before?

Thanks for any advice!
Marlene