Teachers in training

The business side

  • To be eligible to be a teacher in training, you must be currently teaching students regularly, complete your application requirements sending them to both Monsieur Karl, Mr Ravoux, and the Organizer of the course you wish to attend.

  • You are expected to ride in 3 course clinics per year with Master Instructor Bertrand Ravoux (usually April, July and October.) Please prepare financially and in your schedule for the three years you plan to be in the basic course.

  • You are in contract with your course Organizer and your course location throughout your tenure in the Ecole de Légèreté. Any changes of location need to be approved by both your organizer and Mr Ravoux.

  • The organizational ladder in the program for any student issues is 1. Course Organizer. 2. Mr Ravoux. 3. Monsieur Karl. Those above you in the organization will take your concerns forward to resolution within the organization. This helps with clarity and efficient arrival at a solution.

  • Your payment of $850 for your tuition is due to your organizer 2 weeks prior to Mr Ravoux’s arrival for each teaching tour.

  • If, for any reason, you cannot participate in a clinic, you are responsible to find a replacement rider to take your spot. Your organizer may have a waiting list to help you in this situation.

  • You are expected to keep a back up horse schooled closely to the level of your primary horse in case of accident or injury. In either case, you are still responsible for your spot in your course. You can choose to help fill it or ride a different horse.

  • It is also expected from the Teachers in Training to help increase auditor attendance and thus help support their course location by encouraging their students and colleagues to audit teachers courses.  

  • On your 6th session you may present your in-hand and lunging exam. You will also begin to teach (pedagogy) under the supervision of Mr Ravoux.

  • On your 10th session you may present your horse,  theory lecture, and pedagogy exam.  When you present any part of the Foundation Level exam, you must present your theory lecture at the same clinic. You may present your student (if you wish to test for Level 1) but this is not required for the Foundation Level.  (Requirements here: https://www.philippe-karl.com/exams-and-levels )

  • Your theory lecture, pedagogy and presentation of your horse must occur at a clinic with Mr Ravoux. He has the authority to pass/fail the theory and the pedagogy. He will advise you concerning the quality of the presentation of your horse and if it is ready to send to Monsieur Karl for evaluation.

  • Under special circumstances (to be approved by Mr Ravoux) you may be able to video the presentation of your student (for Level 1) if the video is proctored by a Licensed Instructor of the school. The Instructor is in attendance to verify that there has been no editing or altering of the presentation and to see that it is delivered to Mr Ravoux or to Monsieur Karl.

  • You may take up to the 16th clinic to pass all portions of your Foundation exam. You can submit any part of your exams three times.  If you do not pass after three attempts at any portion of the exam or by the 16th clinic, you will be excused from the school.  You may also be excused from the school for violating any of the code of ethics of the  Ecole de Légèreté.  (https://www.philippe-karl.com/philosophy)

  • You are required to learn and apply the method to your own horse as well as understand the work with all horses and riders in every session with Mr Ravoux.  You are also expected to take clear notes on lectures given by Mr Ravoux, clarifying the details of the method. This also gives ample opportunity to ask questions.  

  • As a Teacher in Training you can be listed on Monsier Karl’s website (www.philippe-karl.com) if you maintain a membership in APPEL (which is highly encouraged.)

  • Teachers in Training receive free auditing at any Ecole de Légèreté clinics worldwide.

  • The above are the regular policy of Teachers’ Course Clinics held in the USA in accordance with the Ecole de Légèreté. Mr Ravoux and M Karl reserve the right to change or arrange details within each clinic or clinics according to their assessment of various situations.

things you need to know

  • You need to notify your course Organizer and Mr Ravoux if you are planning on presenting any part of your exam at an upcoming course.

  • Study Phillipe Karl’s books and videos on your own time. 

  •  Review the videos from each session you participate in.  These are your critical study resources for mastering the foundation of the method of  Légèreté.  

  • It can be helpful to study with a licensed instructor between sessions with Mr Ravoux.

  • As a Teacher in Training, you are highly discouraged from riding with teachers and clinicians in other methods. The Ecole de Légèreté is an extremely in depth program and takes an immense amount of study and practice to become clear. It is not interchangeable with any other program or methodology and trying to make it so will only hamper your efforts to gain a comprehensive and functional understanding of the Ecole de Légèreté. it is not ultimately prohibited to ride with other clinicians. BUT if a teacher (trainee or licensed) does so and it is obvious that it has an adverse effect on the clear understanding of the method, the teacher concerned takes the risk of being dismissed from the course/School.

  • As a teacher in training, you are discouraged from showing until you have completed the basic program and have a thorough foundational knowledge and application of the methods in the Ecole de Légèreté. After you are licensed, if you choose to return to showing, do so with great care. You must respect the principles of the school concerning your professional conduct and your conduct with your horses. You can be dismissed from the program/School for failure to do so.

Licensed instructors

  • CONGRATULATIONS! YOU MADE IT! That was a LOT of work!

  • You are the ambassadors of the Ecole de Légèreté. Please hold yourself to the highest caliber of professionalism in every teaching or presentation situation. You are officially authorized to teach the philosophy of Légèreté in the name of Philippe Karl which is an honor and an enormous responsibility.

  • Licensed instructors are to maintain a membership in APPEL, the official organization of the Ecole de Légèreté.

  • As a licensed instructor you are allowed to use the logo of the Ecole de Légèreté in your promotional materials.

  • As a licensed instructor you can audit any clinic of the Ecole de Légèreté worldwide without an audit fee.

  • It is highly recommended that licensed instructors ride in advanced training clinics as much as possible. This allows you to keep moving forward in your understanding of Légèreté and gives the Master Instructor a regular evaluation of your work. This will maintain your licensure.

  • Licensed teachers who don’t continue to attend the advanced training clinics must present their work (their own horse and one of their students) every two years to validate their licence. If the teacher is Licensed at the Foundation Level, they must present their own work and teach an unfamiliar student to validate their license. Failing to do so without giving any reasons results in the license becoming invalid. Any other arrangements must be made with Mr Ravoux.

  • LUSA strongly encourages cooperation and open communication between instructors, their students, and their teaching locations. This is, first and foremost, a community for helping horses and riders through the method of Légèreté. Helping one another is simply the by-product of a healthy and supportive organization. In this spirit, if you have a student that has studied with another instructor, please initiate contact with that instructor to keep the lines of communication and mutual respect very clear. The same is expected if you refer one of your students to another instructor. It only takes a phone call, text, or message and it helps fend off misunderstandings or resentment.

  • The license may also be withdrawn on grounds of violations of the ethical principles of the Ecole de Légèreté. The most basic principles of the school are absolute respect of the horse and exclusion of the use of force or coercive artificial aids and measures. (https://www.philippe-karl.com/philosophy)

  • Exhibiting horses at horse shows is allowed as long as the discipline, the preparation of the horse, and the presentation of the horse are in alignment with the ethical and technical principles of the Ecole de Légèreté. Single nosebands, if sufficiently loose for the horse to easily mobilize the jaw, can be used. Be very aware that horse shows are a very public forum and invite less than principled behavior from horsemen and women. Don’t let yourself be swayed from the highest standards toward your horses. The best choice may be not to participate at all. Violations of the code of ethics can lead to dismissal from the School

  • Monsieur Karl (and with him all the Master Instructors) clearly recommend NOT to ride with clinicians outside the School. To truly understand and correctly apply the concept of the Ecole of Légèreté is already a very demanding task. But as the School is not (and doesn’t want to be) a totalitarian dictatorship, it is not ultimately prohibited to ride with other clinicians. But if a teacher (trainee or licensed) does so and it is obvious that it has an adverse effect on the clarity and integrity of the work in Légèreté, the teacher concerned is at risk to be dismissed from the School.

  • Currently there are no set prices for teachers of the school in the U.S. and their teaching fees. At this point LUSA understands that each teacher is working in varying socioeconomic areas of the country. Growing the interest in the school and the method is the current goal. Set fees for licensed instructors (with some flexibility) may come in the future.

  • As this training concept is legally protected by patent against plagiarism, distortions or arbitrary, unauthorised use, no one may refer to the Ecole de Légèreté or the lessons of Philippe Karl without having received the corresponding licence.

  • The above are the current regular policy of the Ecole de Légèreté as are understood and applied in the United States. Monsieur Karl, the Master Instructors of the Ecole de Légèreté, including Mr Ravoux, reserve the right to change or arrange details differently according to their assessment of each situation.

LUSA (Légèreté USA) is a 501.c.3 non profit created for the US promotion and support of the historic, cultural and technical equestrian heritage that is Philippe Karl’s Ecole de Légèreté serving as the official US branch of the school. LUSA, in the oversight of the management and maintenance of US Teachers’ Courses, submits itself to the decisions and policies of Mr Karl and his school maintaining alignment with the missions and purposes thereof. LUSA oversees the US Teachers’ Courses, Licensed Instructors, Teachers in Training and the US teaching tours of Master Instructor Bertrand Ravoux.