I think this is a definite reason there are a lot out there – at the same time CWD got really popular, they also had a lot of inexperienced reps out there and you saw people having issues with fit. Based on my personal experience, CWD was then not good at tweaking the fit or repaneling. I had one, I liked it, but when I bought a new horse, he hated it and it made him backsore and the repaneling effort solved one problem, sort of, but created new ones. It was a disaster so I sold mine and got a Voltaire Palm Beach, which that horse and my current horse both love (Voltaire’s panels are easier to replace than CWD so it made a fit update easy, and I also ride similar sized horses). But, this isn’t an issue at all if you find a used one that works for you - I would have gladly kept mine if it had worked for my horse. Mine held up well, but I only ride one or two horses a few times a week.
I also heard through a saddle fitter that CWD went with a different manufacturer/leather supplier in the last year or two. The fitter stated that the quality has declined with this change. Don’t own a CWD, so have no first hand experience. From online info, it appears this leather group is now making CWD, Butet, and Devocoux saddles.
Pretty saddles. Most look fairly narrow in the front, especially in the shoulder area. Several friends had problems with the G2 (?) graphite trees and their horses backs getting sore.
Anyone know if Butet revamped their saddle trees to better fit wider Warmblood types?
I have to say that I have a CWD now and it’s grown on me. I had a Voltaire that I loved, but it didn’t fit my mare the best. That was the most comfortable saddle with the best balance that I’ve sat in, in a long time. The CWD took a while to grow on me, but now I quite like it. I have the version that’s most similar to a Butet, and found that all of the different models feel and ride wildly differently. I’ve sat in some that I hated…thankfully I feel like mine is quite nice and I’ve not had any horse react painfully to being ridden it in.
What version is similar to a Butet??? Thank you.
Per my saddle fitter this is what she thinks about the SE03- "The SE03 was a good migration! It really is “what CWD would design if they were trying to make something kind of like the Butet but more CWD-ish.”
Hope this helps!
Tried some new Butets on my new horse last year and unfortunately no. They do have a wide tree option but I can’t say the regular tree is any different than older models.
I would agree that the leather quality on all CWD products has declined over the past 5 years.
CWD has always flooded the market. They advertise one price to seem like they are high end but they make crazy cheap deals on them. They don’t fit well, they fall apart and just aren’t worth getting into.
I recently rode in the new Hunter Mademoiselle and loved it. I had been riding in a Butet and ended up going with a Butet when I found an incredible deal on a basically brand new Butet. I don’t love the CWDs because so many of them are bulky and feel like too much saddle but I LOVED the Hunter Mademoiselle. I sat in both the regular Mademoiselle and the Hunter version (plus the SE01 and had been riding in my trainer’s SEO2) - the Hunter version was hands down my favorite.
I have an old Butet (like 90s old) that’s had the seat recovered and is in great condition… that thing has an amazing tree that has fit everything from my wide growing warmblood youngster, to a few TBs, to a narrow WB that’s built more like a large pony, to a few ponies.
Just bought a classic CWB with a standard tree. Seems to be doing the job for the warmblood I’m riding.
