i participated in the ride last year, and im planning to participate in the ride again this year. even tho i have to drive over 2 hrs to get there. (diesel isnt cheap!) it was interesting and all, but staying with the group of riders just moved a little slow for my taste and my horse's. im going to ask if i can go first ahead of the group, so if i want to increase speed here and there it wont upset anyone. one thing that actha doesnt mention in all their advertising for their rides are the prices, of course. for those of you who are interested in participating in an actha ride and havent checked out their site, here are the prices. you must be a current member of actha to participate in any ride. which is $35 to be an individual member (1 rider/1 horse). $50 for family of 2 membership (2 riders/2 horses). $85 for family of 4 membership (4 riders/4 horses). $10 to add extra rider, $10 to add extra horse. plus the cost/fee of the "division" you will be in. open & pleasure divisions are $58, junior division is $25, and the buddy division is $40. plus the cost of any camping/stall fees and not to mention your tons of fuel money since fuel is like $30 a gal. also, once you participate in an actha ride your scores and standings will be kept on their website, and if you dont automatically renew your membership each year, your account will automatically close at the end of your membership, and you wont be able to reopen the account. all your points, prizes, and scores will be locked. so if you want to keep your scores and standings, you must renew whether you want to or not. sounds a little dirty of them to me. anyways, if you're not use to paying to trail ride like me, which im sure there are lots of those who dont out there, you might be frowning upon that. it's steep prices in my opinion, and i wouldnt want to pay those prices on a regular basis (once or twice a month) by going to lots of actha rides. but going to this ride for the rescues once a year isnt too bad. the charity the money is going to is what my main focus is. call me cheap if you want, but the price of living and horsecare keeps going up, and i can set up obstacles on trails i use on my property and my friends property and ride for more than 6 miles, for free.