Meet the L Graduate With Distinction – Liana Antanovich

July 25, 2024

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How long have you been involved in the sport?

I have been riding since I was 14 years old, and I started in agriculture, not in sport, with all the goofing around bareback and cross-country. Riding for sport came later, at 19 years old, when I joined the eventing division at a riding school in Belarus, and things began turning proper. My ability to quickly develop a connection with a variety of horses and freedom of experimentation led me to join the state stud #59 training division, where I continued learning, breaking, training, and selling young horses under the tutelage of FEI master and judge, Yakov Schedrovitsky. Later, in Russia, I was fortunate to receive coaching from Elena Petushkova, further realizing my strengths, and my areas of development became clear, like HD video – that was the most unique experience of precious self-awareness.

How long have you been a USDF member?

In 2005, I moved to the USA and joined USDF and USEF, so that makes it 18 years.

What made you decide to participate in the USDF L Education Program?

Two things made me decide to participate: first, I always wanted to be a judge and clinician. I’d watch hours and hours of training and competition videos on YouTube, ClipMyHorse.TV, training VHS tapes and DVDs, and everything, all while making mental notes and developing my own approach. Way back in Belarus, I realized I could make a quick and significant impact on both horse and rider through training sessions or even via words of peer mentoring. That started my coaching path. Second, I have thoughts about developing equestrian sports and started publishing parts of the methodology related to training plan design, so working towards becoming an L-Program Faculty and USDF Official (if all stars align, so to speak) seemed like a logical next step.

How long did it take to complete the program, start to finish?

I had a gap of three or more years between Part 1 and Part 2, and it took years to get into Part 1. So, once the opportunity to enter both parts of the L Program came up, I jumped on it and flew from Seattle to Massachusetts for Part 1, then flew from Connecticut to Ohio for my Part 2 sessions. It was a massive undertaking as I look back.

Do you plan to further your dressage education and to continue to apply what you learned in the program to become a licensed official?

Absolutely, that is a goal of mine. My horses pace me, though a bit slower than my spirit wants to fly, but I always choose and prioritize my horse’s well-being, so if I walk slower than I want to, it’s okay. I do hope to find a mount who can help me acquire a few missing scores required to apply for small ‘r’ and later to ‘R’ and ‘S’ designations.

Do you serve as a judge for schooling shows in your capacity as an L Graduate? If so, on average, how many per year?

Definitely! This show season is my first judging season, and I did five live dressage schooling shows and two online shows. Being an L Program Graduate with Distinction really helps to establish connections with show facility owners and organizers. When I come to the show, I work for them, and everyone is my client, including riders. Officiating as a judge is a big job.

What impact did the program have on your knowledge of dressage?

The program solidified my vocabulary of judging terms and helped me see where the teaching and training methodology could use further advancement or refinement. The program also increased my confidence. Confidence boosting was a big thing, really. My group for Part 2 in Ohio was great and solid. Our tutors prepared us very well. When I judged my first show in New York, nobody realized it was my first show, and it was rolling well. I had a professional scribe, of course, so my newness did not have a chance to leak out in any way. So, from that, it is going steady, and I look forward to every next show with excitement.

Name three things you took away from the program that you think every rider should know.

Relaxation in the top line, paired with a round and connected neck and frame, is not optional – it is mandatory at any basic level, be it Training or Introductory. The degree of other criteria, like activity, ground cover, engagement, and balance, can vary greatly. However, generous relaxation through the top line is a must for appearing in a dressage ring with an ambition to demonstrate the dressage form of going.
Sitting and balancing on the seat bones in a vertical dressage seat alignment improves scores by 0.5-1.0 marks for almost every test movement. Frequently, riders do not realize how much they take away from movement activity and balance by leaning forward over their knees.
For the basic dressage levels, horse neck oscillation in all three gaits clearly indicates the quality and correctness of classical training. Later, going up the levels, if neck oscillation is preserved, the horse’s throughness will be easy to maintain and develop further, contributing to the purity of paces and lightness and ease of transitions.

Have you served in any other official capacity with USDF (council/committee member, council/committee chair, PM/GM delegate, board member/Regional Director, etc.)? Please describe.

I served on the board of the Equestrians’ Institute, a USDF Region 6 Group Member Organization (GMO), as a marketing director. During my tenure, we introduced a lifetime membership option and held educational symposiums in Washington State with Conrad Schumacher, Gerd Hausman, and Stefen Peters.

Tell us about your horse(s).

Many of the horses I trained were young horses under six years old, which counts for over three hundred horses (I think). I also rode advanced horses, including Grand Prix jumpers and dressage horses. In Eurasia, I rode two breeding stallions equally talented in jumping and dressage, Asidol and Kentaur, and a young dressage prospect, Naslednik (Heirloom). In America, I re-schooled hunter/jumper Limerick (trained up to Intermediate I Freestyle), and for the last ten years, I have been training my own Oldenburg gelding, Fyren (2020 Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 6 Second Level Freestyle Champion, and shown at 2021 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® at Second and Third Level).