Saddle up and settle in — it's time to go for a ride.

Whether you love horses or just the feeling of being on top of one, equestrian offers a wide range of activities and a little something for everybody.

Ranging from finely controlled instruction from rider to mount, called dressage, to the high-flying experience of leaping over fences — known as jumpers — or barrel racing at breakneck speed, the gamut of the versatile sport can be found at the Circle C Equestrian Center in Waimanalo.

Equestrian — meaning mounted on horseback — can be broken down into two disciplines: the classical English discipline and the cowboy-style Western discipline. Both require excellent communication between rider and mount for success.

Circle C trainer Michelle Mizutani emphasizes the caretaking aspect of owning or riding a horse over anything else involved in the sport.

"It's not about the riding, it's about the love of the animal," said Mizutani, who has taught horseback riding for 14 years. "When you (ride) it right, they look like they're made to dance."

She is a trainer of the English and Western disciplines, and specializes in jumpers (which falls under English). She is one of six trainers who rotate their schedules throughout the week.

It was pretty easy for Maile Cooke, 27, to name her favorite part of the experience.

"The jumps ... it feels like freedom, soaring, flying," said Cooke, who started riding when she was 7. "It completely consumes you."

While Mizutani says about half of her 30 students own a horse, it's not necessary for participation in lessons; Circle C has a number of its own training horses, also known as school horses. They're generally older, quieter types that are very experienced. As for the students, they range in age from 6 to 75, males and females, though her core group is girls ages 11 to 13. "It's like a social niche in them," Mizutani said. People with no riding experience can also learn.

Lessons range from $40 to $60 for a period of 45 minutes to an hour. Most riders take lessons between one and three times per week. A riding helmet and boots are a necessity; they cost between $80 and $90 together at most stores, Mizutani said.

Basically, equestrian is about knowing how to ask your horse to do certain things — a trot, a gallop, a leap over a 4-foot fence. That, of course, sounds much easier than it actually is.

"It's the whole body (to ask): it's your hands, your legs, your voice, your squeezes," Cooke said. "You can be asking right with your legs but have your body weight wrong, and the horse won't do it."

And during the process of getting acquainted with the horse, there can be some growing pains. The training horses, or school horses, are generally docile, but you have to be willing to take your lumps along the way. Once a rider advances to a more frisky mount, expect to be tossed once in a while.

Kayla Gillespie, 12, was happy to talk about the experience of getting bucked from the saddle while her horse, Playboy, hungrily munched on some weeds nearby.

She said one of the first times she fell was when she was 4.

"I was afraid (of falling again) at first," Kayla said, eyeing the horse with mock annoyance before patting him on the muzzle. "But then I got back on."

These days she's totally comfortable, and something else motivates the Le Jardin Academy student. "My parents are afraid," Kayla said with a grin.

Riding can be physically demanding, and not just for the horse. Cooke, a psychology major at the University of Hawai'i, said she is conditioning before buying a horse. It can be exhausting because of the rigorous test runs that rider and mount endure before a selection is made.

"I know people look at it and say the horse is doing all the work," Cooke said. "But the people that are the best (riders) you see are the ones not making any effort. They make it look so easy. Then you start thinking you can do it, and you say 'jump' and they don't. You say, 'Where's the start button?' "

But spend enough time perfecting your communication and body language, and the payoff is spectacular.

"When you get that one second when you're asking just right, and they're performing just right, it's perfect," Cooke said. "It's like the stars all are aligned. It's a power trip."

Dressage, which is French for "to train," is considered an English discipline, going back to medieval times. Warriors expected their mounts' movements to be precise on the battlefield, so their horses were trained to respond to the slightest command. Today's riders are judged on their horse's ability to move to specific points with specific motions. Form is key. In hunter and jumper competitions, riders are judged on their ability to clear as many fences as possible in the time allotted, or on their form as they clear the fences.

Competitions in the Western discipline — rodeos and barrel races, for example — originated in America's time of frontier life, and can also be found across O'ahu.

For the experienced rider, the Hawai'i Horse Show Association organizes equestrian events, rotating from ranch to ranch, primarily from April to November. The events encompass both English and Western styles.

Beginning riders, though, have plenty to learn before they need worry about entering a competition. That's where Mizutani and her fellow trainers can help.

"There are activities like the Pony Club, where (newcomers) do group dressage events and jumps (together)," Mizutani said. "And there's some paperwork too that teaches about horseback riding."

And apparently, even those who have been at it for nearly two decades can still learn a thing or two.

"They say you're not a horseback rider until you fall off 100 times. You know, I'd say I've fallen maybe 50 times. I'm halfway there," Cooke said with a laugh.