There are not many events that can claim the kind of longevity the Rumsey Ride for STARS has had over the last three decades, but then again there are not many events like the annual fundraiser.

30 years ago the ride was launched by the Rumsey Ag Society. Today it still enjoys great community support and a cause that many in rural areas can get behind.

“Over 30 years we have seen a lot of stuff with the economic downturns, BSE, forest fire and everything else, but the generosity of everybody donating to the riders or buying raffle tickets, or even coming down and helping out, there’s great community spirit,” said Rob Richmond of the organizing committee.

The Ride is this Sunday, August 11 a the Bar TL Ranch. While there are all kinds of activities, including a silent auction, special meal, a poker run, and raffles, at its heart is a trail ride, where participants raise pledges for STARS Air Ambulance. In its 30 year history, it has raised more than $840,000.

“If it isn’t broke don’t fix it,” said Richmond, but we do some tweaks along the way. One exciting way they are marking the anniversary is Dr. Gregory Powell, the founder of STARS, who also served as its CEO  for 27 years will be attending the event.

Each year the ride honours a person or group that has contributed to the ride over the years, and for the 30th-anniversary ride, it is the Richmond family. While Rob Richmond has done an admirable job acting as a spokesperson for the event, the family roots are much deeper.

  “That covers all the way back to my granny Stella Richmond, who was back at the early rides selling her quilts, and that’s where the quilt raffle came from, and my grandpa Bob and my dad, everyone knew as Gooch. He was a long-time volunteer that stood back in the weeds and if you needed something done he did it,” said Richmond. “This goes right through to today, my mom  and my sister Joanne who is the hardest worker and my brother Ken and his family and of course Gooch’s Gang.”

In three short years, the Canadian International Rover Challenge  (CIRC) has grown into a premier event.

This year from August 9-12, 22 teams made up of post-secondary students from Canada, The United States, Germany, Poland, and Bangladesh will be in the valley to take on the terrain with robotic rovers.

“We wanted to have this competition in Drumheller because of the Badlands – they are beautiful, and the terrain is perfect for what we need. Drumheller is also a great place to host this because the infrastructure can support the teams that are coming. The Town and the Park have been great to work with in helping us to plan this competition, and we are grateful for their support,” said organizer William Davis.

This is very different from the first event just three summers ago when there were two and a half teams. A half team because one team came with $300 and cobbled together and entry from parts procured from local hardware stores.

In 2018, the event was substantially bigger.

“We have gained some credibility. There are a couple of events around the world that are similar to this and it always takes a few years to get traction among the actual teams of participants. When teams saw what we did last year, with CIRC Central and having a place to work, and different tasks in comparison to what they were used to, it made a much more exciting prospect for them,” said organizer Justin Gerein.

He explains that some of those original competitors from the first event now put on the challenge.

“It is composed of former participants from the competition. We have formed a non-profit organization called the Canadian Space Technology Advancements Group that acts as the organizing body of the competition,” said Gerein.

He says the event is a manageable size for the volunteers to put on. One area of growth he sees is involvement from the technology sectors.

“We would like to see more companies within Canada become involved in this,” said Gerein. “We have a surprising number of organizations, whether they are government-run or commercial companies that do space and robotic activities throughout Canada, so we would really like to see more of those groups get involved and train and excite the next generations of students going into those areas of industry.”

The competition will be hosted at four sites throughout the valley with the Badlands Community Facility acting as the central location.

For more information to https://circ.cstag.ca.