John,
Funny you mention the horse riding. I worked to be in pretty good shape but my prior ride on a horse was in 1981 and a leisurely one at that. Hard to condition the ride if you don't have access to a horse (my lame excuse). My 30" legs, with multiple stirrup adjustments, just ached at the knees for most of the trip as the horses were pretty stout. The tailbone blister was not good either. All to ultimately make the trip my most memorable.
