NEW AUTHENTICS
Featuring Jean-Sebastien Pougand.
Jean-Sebastien traded the glitz and glamour of fashion for meadows and horses, investing his modeling earnings into realising his horse-riding dream.
Jean was a self-taught rider. He devoured equestrian book and with some guidance from some at the local stable, mastered the art of competition and taming and horse. He claims to speak ‘horse’ himself.
At the age of twenty, Jean left for London to study, and what was intended to be a year of living in the big city became thirteen years. He was scouted while working in a fashion boutique, which launched him into an exciting modeling career. He met many people, traveled around, and went to a lot of glamorous parties.
It was good , he thought , but it wasn;t his truth. Deep down , he yearned to be significant to someone, to have a prupose and to truly express himself. Anf so, he bought some fields and few horses with the last of his modeling money. “I thought, this is it, right?
It’s now, I’m going to leave everything behind , cut my dreadlock, and set up my dream…”
His dream was to return to his roots and return to his true passion. Tending to his horses in the morning, hosting, riding classes, throughout the day, ad relaxing by the river in the evening. He now lives his dream, with plans to launch this own horse travel agency, exploring destinations like , Romania and botswana.
“The real version of myself is this one, the horse-riding one,” says Jean, “I feel like a Centauri – half man, half horse, I glide. Not on a wave. I glide on the meadow and on the grass. I love doing what I do.”
So, how do you tame a horse? According to Jean, the more annoying you are, the more they consider you the leader. He relies on a lot of invisible cues, all very subtle. And it requires a great deal of patience each day. This goes against Jean’s nature since he is a very impatient person. Horses, in this way, have taught him a lot.
For Jean, the most beautiful way to ride is bareback. He feels completely free and can gallop fast in full contact with the horse. Preferably into the sunset.
Jean-Sebastion’s story is the first in our series of authentic denim stories, highlighting the individuals who choose to live their truth. More coming soon.