DIY horse show ribbon rack

As I've mentioned before, I am a horseback rider. Although, more recently I'm much more of a groom and bill payer as I haven't ridden my horse Ellie in months. Blame it on the cold and the mud and the fact that my mare gets a little crazy in the winter. I think she is quite enjoying her time off as a pasture ornament. I call her Bob Marley as her mane is starting to dread over a bit. Whoops!

Here she is in all her hairy buffalo glory...

Don't judge me!

 And here she is for real...

The girl cleans up well!

Anyway, back to my post. Ah yes, my DIY horse show ribbon rack. You see that snazzy ribbon in the clean version picture above? Well, Ellie and I won a few nice awards and ribbons in 2011 and I wanted to be able to showcase them in my home instead of relegating them to the closet in a bag, or worse yet, the garbage can!

Awhile back I was browsing one of my favorite tack shops online and came across this, which I promptly pinned, of course!

Bevel Ribbon Board

 The original price on it was $105 (its now on sale for $84), but I thought I could make my own version for a lot cheaper. And so I did! What do you think?

Obviously, mine's a little different than theirs. I had good intentions of making one very similar, and even purchased the rest of the pieces I'd need to make it, but in the end, this one is what suited my needs right now. I think if Ellie and I do end up showing this season and we win more awards, I'll make the version with the space to add more ribbons.

The whole process was really simple. I purchased the plaque ready made in that shape at Michael's. At the time, they didn't have any other plaque options, but since then I've seen plenty of other shapes and sizes at Michael's and at Walmart.

I then had some pine boards and lattice cut down for the other pieces and purchased brass chain link and eye hooks to attach them together, but like I said, I didn't go that route. Instead I just used one of the small lattice pieces. Then I stained both using some leftover stain from my latest dresser project.  It was Minwax Wood Stain in Dark Walnut.

To give the rack some space to actually hang the ribbons on, I used spacers between the lattice and plaque, then used some fancy screws to secure the lattice to the plaque.

I already had Ellie's nameplate that I don't use at the current barn. I attached it using velcro so that it can easily be changed out with another nameplate should I get another horse in the future. Yes, fiance, there are more horses in our future. Consider this your warning!

I love the way it turned out. I can even see these being used at an away horse show as both a nameplate to identify the horse in the stall and also as a spot to show off your winnings! I definitely have plans to make a few more versions in the future and maybe even sell them on my consignment shop site, Second Course Consignments.