Phillipe Karl - A Great Addition to the EQUITANA Education Program

Never content with anything less than the most illustrious of presenters, EQUITANA Melbourne is happy to announce the world-renowned French Riding Master, Philippe Karl, who will be a great addition to this year’s Education Program. EQUITANA could not be more excited to offer horse lovers the opportunity to learn more about Philippe’s internationally known School of Légéretè.


Philippe Karl was born in 1947, dropping his medical studies at the age of 21 to dedicate himself to working with horses. This was to begin an impressive career spanning many decades, with no end yet in sight. In 1985, he was appointed as a member of the French National Riding School, Ecole Nationale d’Equitation, in Saumur. Here he studied the masters of old and developed a system based on the century-old theories that the nose must be on or in front of the vertical and the poll the highest point. Karl became the Ecuyer (a squire or officer of honour) at the prestigious Cade Noir, where he created two historical presentations at the long reins. For thirteen years he took part in all the Gala Shows of the Cade Noir in France and all across Europe. In 1998, Philippe left the Ecole Nationale d’Equitation in order to devote himself to presenting clinics in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the United States.

In 2004, Philippe Karl founded the School of Légéretè in order to pass on his philosophies to committed and qualified riding teachers. The founding principle of the School of Légéretè is the absolute respect of the horse, which Philippe Karl advocates strongly. With over 40 years experience in training horses in the classical principals of dressage, Philippe Karl believes that any horse can do correct flying changes, half pass, piaffe and passage and dedicates his time teaching instructors with his common sense and logical approach. He also believes that the ‘mother of all gaits’, the walk, is imperative to training and he systematically teaches riders correct weight aids to balance the horse in all lateral movements, beginning in walk. He also uses jumping to gymnasticise the horse which adds variety and obvious use of all the large muscle groups of the horse.



Philippe Karl is also a well known author and has published a number of successful books including Long Reining: The Saumur Method, Reitkunst, and Twisted Truths of Modern Dressage: A Search for a Classical Alternative. He has also produced a number of training DVDs on the techniques of Classical Dressage.



Philippe will be presenting two educational sessions at EQUITANA Melbourne 2010. These will be exclusively on Saturday and Sunday. Philippe Karl’s session times will be available in the Education Schedule, which will be available on the internet in September. We suggest keeping an eye on the website and getting in early to grab your seat for this amazing trainer and his fascinating training techniques!