"Hedgewood Farms is a family," Ms. Bufkins said. "There's a great attitude here."

Though she has no children herself, Ms. Hommel teaches around 35 kids and is a "second mother to the mothers" who bring their kids to ride. She's run the farm for 30 years and said she's glad to see that the younger student pool has grown over the years. So is Ms. Bufkins.

"They're not hanging out downtown," Ms. Bufkins said. "And they're not just jumping on a horse. They have to brush them and get them ready. It teaches them compassion and gives them a lot of pride."

Ms. Hommel began riding when she was 6, starting with English but delving into Western and side-saddle styles. She now does mostly English, because she says Western is phasing itself out on Long Island, and it's very expensive to go to a good show off-island.

She says she can't remember why she got into horses, just that she's always loved them. Her mother was, and still is, a registered nurse in Riverhead and her father, a marine engineer on tug boats, bought the farm on Main Road to support her and her brother's horses.

Ms. Hommel said she tries to incorporate all kinds of styles and methods in her training technique. She likes to work with the different personalities and temperaments of her clientele, human and equine.

"Like any sport, each individual is different," she said. "Some pick it up quickly, others have to work harder."

Through both talent and hard work, Hedgewood Farm's rider Halle Murphy is going to the Hampton Classic this year. The 12-year-old is excited about the show, but she says she most enjoys the connection between herself and her horse, Opportunity Knocks, when they're riding.

"It's like you're as one," she said.

Former first-grade teacher Jackie Bittner has owned and operated Hidden Lake Farm in Southold since 1967. On horseback since she was a tot, she now rides "strictly English."

"It's what I like, and what I do best," she said. "You can't get too spread out, you know."

She was born and raised in Centerport but has lived in Southold since the late '50s. She's had a variety of breeds over the years -- thoroughbreds, quarter horses, appaloosas. She now has a total of about 16.

"Enough mouths to feed," Ms. Bittner said. "I love all my horses. They're my children."

To her, equestrian activities are growing on the North Fork because of the wide open spaces, and because riding is something you can do all your life, whether you're 3 or 89.

Other area trainers often mention Ms. Bittner as an influence. She sees her life's work firsthand in the generations who come back to Hidden Lake, seeking that one-of-a-kind bond between horse and human.

"My customers, they come back," she said. "And when their children ride, I think 'Wow! Where did all that time go?'ââ"

At Paard Hill Farms on Shelter Island, Diane Rodich teaches dressage to adults and to kids as young as 6. A native of Monroe, Mich., Ms. Rodich, 37, has been around the world training with the best -- Betsy Steiner in Georgia and Conrad Schumacher in Germany, for example. She also helps clients buy and sell horses and specializes in the European market.

At 23, after working other "normal" jobs as a legal secretary and as a typist, Ms. Rodich said she had to leave the home of the famous equine statue of General George Armstrong Custer, in Monroe. A career with horses called.

She met Ellen Lear, founder of Paard Hill Farms, a few years ago in the buying-and-selling trade and is now enjoying her first summer on Shelter Island. She said the Long Island horse community -- especially out on the North Fork -- is a whole different world from what she's used to. She wishes more people in the area and in the Hampton Classic had an interest in dressage, a classic and ancient form of horsemanship.

"It's hard to have [dressage] people want to stay here," she said.

To Ms. Rodich, biomechanics is one of the most appealing aspects of her particular sport. She said she would have been an engineer if it weren't for her love of horses.

"Put a leg here and it will affect this in the horse," she said. "The way you carry your body and the way you're sitting ... I like how everything works."

eschultz@timesreview.com

Equine expression:

A few clarifications to make you look smart around the water cooler next week

English style: involves a smaller saddle ("Looks like a postage stamp," said Rocky DiVello), traditional conservative black-and-gray uniform, often requires rider to "post," or move up and down in the saddle with the horse's stride.

Hunter-jump: jumping over a fence. This is the bread and butter of the Hampton Classic.

Western style: bigger saddle, bigger hat. Think swaggering, rope-swinging cowboys. To some trainers like Hidden Lake Farm's Jackie Bittner, this is a "working style only."

Dressage: "training" in French, it's a series of complex, natural movements a horse performs in response to subtle movements by its rider. A horse "dance."

Hedgewood Farm

4000 Main Road

Laurel

www.hedgewoodfarm.org

Carol Ann Hommel

Hidden Lake Farm Riding School

North Road (Route 48)

Southold

765-9896

Jackie Bittner

Paard Hill Farms

41 Ram Island Road

Shelter Island

www.paardhillfarms.com

Diane Rodich

The 33rd Annual Hampton Classic

Broadcast on Animal Planet

Sunday, Aug. 24-Sunday, Aug. 31

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (approximately)

Bridgehampton, off Montauk Highway

at 240 Snake Hollow Road

www.hamptonclassic.com

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