Or they sponsor her and she gets it free if she uses it in elite level competitions, Well sponsored riders don’t have to actually buy the stuff they use and wear and get paid for any endorsements in ads, either in product or cash. It’s a great marketing tool and sells a lot of product. What they wear and use out of public view might be quite different as their choices might be if they had to buy it at retail prices.
Not to mention that someone stuffing money (or expensive free goods) in your pocket might change the way you feel about how much you like their products 
I never rode in one (I am a Butet fan) but I really dislike the initials CWD on the cantle and the plastic integrated into the leather…
This would refer to the 2Gs not the regular saddle. I love my SE01 (I had a great rep, who of course no longer works for them!), but I also don’t care for the extra stuff you see on the 2G.
Totally random aside, overheard while in the CWD tent at WEG, the reps were hunting Devin Ryan’s saddle list, because he was switching all his 2Gs out for Classics.
I am also not a big fan of the 2Gs to ride in BUT I did convert from being a die hard Butet rider to the Mademoiselle.
And look, I’m probably nuts, but lately, every time I see Kevin Staut riding, the design of his saddle looks like the Mademoiselle and not the 2Gs.
I personally think the saddle is pretty brilliant for men or women, and I think CWD has a small problem in what they’ve called it 
Re: the idea that you may be sponsored and ride in something different at home than what you ride in at elite competitions, did anyone notice that Karen Polle was riding in a Bruno Delgrange at the WEG even though she is now sponsored by Hermes?
I’m pretty sure you want to ride in your best, most favoritest tack at the biggest events of your life. I thought Karen’s riding in that saddle spoke volumes. And yes, I do spend way too much analyzing this stuff, I agree with you. :lol:
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Personally, my experience with CWD has been a roller coaster. I have seen 3 (or was it 4?) reps for my local area. In my opinion, only ONE had a decent amount of knowledge. The most recent one put my horse, basically, in the hospital and has left such a bad taste in my mouth for CWD that I will never think about using them again.
The first rep was a bit strange. My former trainer was a bit of a know-it-all and was basically fitting me instead of CWD. I understand some trainers may need to have insight into their client’s fittings as they know how their clients ride, but this former trainer had literally told me that saddle fit for the horse doesn’t matter/exist. She completely disregarded the horse’s fit, and the CWD rep (at the time) stood back and agreed.
A year or so later, a new CWD rep comes out to this same barn and fits my horse and I, again, for the 2Gs. This guy was awesome. He had an opinion/voice (despite said former trainer repeating all of her opinions) and fit my horse and myself nicely. I was very happy with that saddle, until I switched horses a few years later…
So, now its the beginning of 2018 and I call CWD out as I would love to have another well-fitting 2Gs to fit my new horse. The rep comes out, we have a nice fitting ride, and I end up test-riding (and later buying) a demo saddle as well as custom-ordering a new saddle (plan was to trade-in old 2Gs for a comparable upgrade and use the demo until the new one came in, as the old saddle was hurting my horse’s back). I’m using this saddle for about a week (and I feel amazing, the saddle is cushy, it feels great for me) and suddenly my horse slowly starts acting up and being very twitchy on his back. I figured it must be poor riding on my part, so I try and get it together for the next few rides. It got exponentially worse. My gelding’s pain got to the point that if I very, very lightly touched him with my finger on his back, he would almost break the crossties! He ended up having to have nearly a month of a break from riding to recover. My back actually ended up hurting as time progressed as well, though the saddle felt fine. It wasn’t mild pain, but it was withstandable. Both mine and my horse’s back pain ended up being due to the rocking that the saddle had, which our rep’s “fix” was to take away foam from the back of the saddle instead of adding it. (Voltaire, thankfully, knew what to do and now we are both very happy in our Voltaire.)
I call the rep and say “this saddle isn’t working, please come out and refit.” She comes out shortly after along with two of the top fitters at CWD. They look at the saddle and agree, it isn’t the right fit (though they said it was a good fit, just not perfect). Fine. So I ask, “let’s return this demo, stop the custom order, and test ride a saddle with the right panels before proceeding with the custom order to ensure it fits this time.”
Big no-no from the local rep. She later texts that her top fitters “saw nothing wrong with the fit minus some back pain for you” and that she cannot do a return. I keep pursuing that it is an incorrect fit. Eventually (and I mean, this is after some tooth pulling), she caves in and allows me to return the saddle.
I meet her at the local show, give her the saddle, and she “refunds me.” The “refund” came across as a charge on my CC, not a credit! I texted her asking to fix it and she directed me to the CA office. I called, the lady there was rude and had no clue what was going on. I ended up having to dispute two charges through my credit card company. This was months later that it was finally fixed…
Long story short: The local rep is awful, her customer service is awful, and the CA office is un-knowledgeable and has awful customer service as well. I will never again order from CWD.
Wow, annairb, that sounds miserable! I just ordered my first ever saddle today and now worried that I rushed it. My trainer was there, as was my friend who’s CWD I have been using, and the reps were there. They had me try out two saddles, both of which were loads better in fitting me (my friend is tall and thin and I am petite with muscular legs) but I’m such a newbie that I wasn’t great at answering their questions and I was in a hurry to get out of there to do volunteer stuff for my kid’s school walkathon. My trainer seems to trust them, though, and it’s not like she gets any kickbacks or anything.
I had been looking at the Hermes saddles just because it appeals to my fashionista side, and realizing that I spent about as much as i would have otherwise.
I’m guessing we have the same rep!(I’m in SoCal) I love Victoria so much. So sweet and she answers all your questions and takes you through every step. I love her. As for the actual response to the question: I LOVE THEM! They are the only saddles that I will every buy for myself again. I’ve sat and ridden in pretty much everything; Antares, Butet, Voltaire, Devoucoux, Amerigo, you name it I’ve probably tried it atleast once. CWD is by far my favorite. Keeps your position secure, fits multiple horses, and so on. Amazing brand, I would highly highly recommend to everyone with the budget to get one.
What is with CWD zombie threads lately?
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Because when someone posts about a subject that was discussed, they are told to use the search function. When you use google, COTH threads pop up too so they comment on it. I for one enjoy the old threads popping up and 2018 is hardly a zombie thread.
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Since you asked in a post- I ordered my CWD SE02 last year and got it in a few weeks. Maybe over a month. I love it. I haven’t had any particular problems and the reps around here seem good. Very responsive. I had a small lapse when our rep left her position and someone from Florida was filling in. He was useless. The girl who replaced him is fantastic.
It was exactly what I ordered, I got it in good time, it met and exceeded my expectations. Most important- it fits my mare fantastic.
But eq.sharon responded as though she was talking to someone else on this thread about their rep… on a year-old thread. With the way reps turnover like over easy eggs, the odds that you would be talking about the same rep a year later… pretty low. It’s not like eq.sharon bumped the thread and posted in a way that recognized the thread was old.
Everytime a greenie posts something BAD about CWD, another greenie posts something nice. And both greenies seem totally clueless about how this board works and zombie threads. Coincidence?
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I just ordered a new CWD and was told it would take 14 weeks. I went with the 2G and without all the plastic CWD labels.
I just saw this on Instagram! They embossed the leather without any of the white writing. It looks so beautiful.
Vxf111 you comment on a lot of CWD threads negatively. Did you have a bad experience with them?
I just had a fitting in So Cal and the gentleman they sent brought only one saddle out for us to try… WTF??? It was the weirdest appointment ever! We did not buy.
I think I’ve many many times said… 1. The quality of CWD saddles is very nice and I would happily buy one used if I needed a saddle and found one I liked and 2. Their reps are wildly hit or miss and there are some real horror stories out there about purchases.
So no personal experience, but never understood one to be required to post on this board.
What I don’t like, and what I suspect is happening, is CWD and/or its reps and/or its paid representatives pretending to be regular unaffiliated consumers posting positive experiences. When a zombie thread gets bumped by a brand new poster with no history, for seemingly no reason for bumping as their very first post ever on COTH, right after someone posts negatively about CWD or about one of the reps, I can’t help but suspect this is what’s happening.
I heavily suspect “eq.sharon” is SoCal CWD rep Victoria tooting her own horn and promoting CWD. That is against the advertising rules.
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Ohh I see where you are coming from! Genuinely was just asking as i think I read every COTH thread regardig CWD when I was shopping (due diligence) and you had commented in a number of them. I was not trying to attack and hope it didn’t come accross that way.
I think their saddles are lovely. I have no interest in getting embroiled in a custom order from them.
And while I think the leather is lovely & they are usually comfortable I’d say they tend to put people in chair positions and many of the saddle fitters are not well versed enough to configure it properly. Also, their super recessed stirrups Bars can be a big NO over time for some horses.
