DIY: Horse Show Ribbon Display

Calling this a DIY might be a little bit of a stretch, but, here we are. It might surprise you to know that back in the day (like 5 years ago HAHA) I used to be a bit of a satin ho. I spent a year point chasing on two horses to win some big ass fancy year-end award ribbons and was marginally successful. Actually the point of all the showing that year was to overcome my crippling show anxiety, but nobody gives you ribbons for that... lol.

Swag from a single banquet after the 2015 show season, haha. 

Ruby (and Topaz!) won some sweet embroidered Irish knits. 

One memorable show that year gave out medals instead of ribbons!

In my previous job, I had a boring windowless beige office (which I referred to as the beige coffin), so I strung fishing line from thumbtacks and created an epic ribbon border around most of my office.

I even had my medals on my bulletin board!

I have no idea where the photos are from the week I moved out, I was definitely mostly done with the 3rd wall at that point. When I boxed them up, I knew I was going to have to figure out a new display at some point -- my new job started in an open office, so work was no longer an option. And even once I got promoted and back into a private office again, I didn't want to drag all those ribbons back in, so they just sat boxed up in the tack shed for a while. I had been idly browsing display options, including vases, shadowboxes, glass-topped coffee tables (that was actually what I was most interested in but it seemed complicated lol), and finally, lattice.

I am still spending my way through Menards rebates and this was like.. $13. Winning. 

We had to make a run to the hardware store for some ant killer (after a carpenter ant bit Cici on the nose, poor noodle), so I grabbed a 2x8 piece of lattice while we were there, then conned DH into hanging it in the guest bedroom once we got home. Next, I had to iron the ribbons, which were a little worse for the wear after being boxed for 2 years and moved several times. I used my iron on the lowest setting and mostly ironed the backs of the ribbons (so if I scorched it, you wouldn't be able to see it). I also had a pillowcase on hand for some of the more stubborn ones that needed multiple passes.

I'm not sure DH had ever really seen the extent of my collection. He got a little bug-eyed for a minute... haha. 

 Then it was just a matter of hanging them all up! I got a little OCD and realized there were 7 rows, which was perfect for ribbons from 1-6 with the bottom row for the BIG guys (champions, reserve champion, top 5, my single lonely neck sash, etc). So I started filling it up!

Less 6th, 5th, and 4th ribbons than I would have thought... although don't think that's because I'm some hotshot rider or anything, it's mostly because classes around here are typically very small lol. 

Once we got to the 3rds, I could easily fill the entire row. 

Had a second to spare! ;)

Too many blues for the bottom row, so I tossed some up top to fill in the gaps. 

Voila! I hung the medals on the closet track in the corner behind the stopper (so they're out of the way), but next I need to figure out something to hang those on....

I was perusing "medal hangers" on Google and about died laughing at this one. 

Someone suggested wrapping them around boards, and god knows I have plenty of those lying around.

They look better on the thicker board, because then you can read the words on the sashes. So that might be a project for another day!

 At any rate, for under $20, that's how you can hang boxes of ribbons in a relatively compact space.