Junior Brahman Program Recycles All American Show Ribbons

After each year’s All American, leftover ribbons and awards are hauled back to the American Brahman Breeder's Association (ABBA) office and packed up in the storage closet, but this spring, the ABBA staff decided to take a different approach.

On April 26th, ABBA Executive Vice President, Ashley Hughes, met with Sue Copeland, founder of Ribbon Recycling, to donate the excess ribbons and buckles. In a surprising twist of fate, at this meeting it was discovered Mrs. Copeland’s first job after her college graduation was the Director of Communications for the American Brahman Breeders Association. What a small world!

During her travels, Sue noticed the large number of ribbons left in the dirt at horse shows she attended. This inspired her to create Ribbon Recycling, an organization which collects new and used show ribbons and distributes them to therapeutic riding facilities and other therapy programs that are often unable to afford awards of their own.

Since its creation, Ribbon Recycling has grown and now receives ribbons from all types of shows across the country. However, more ribbons are always needed to keep up with the growing demand.

“Leftover awards, especially ribbons, are almost inevitable at a show like our Junior Nationals since you can’t guarantee that every class will be full, but you have to plan for the possibility they will be,” said Shelby Schiefelbein, Director of Youth & Communications, American Brahman Breeders Association. “I’m thankful that an organization like this exists so these awards can benefit someone instead of just collecting dust in our storage closet”.

For more information on Ribbon Recycling, visit ribbonrecycling.com. For more information on the American Junior Brahman Association, visit brahman.org.

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