Does anyone have a good source for arena letters than hang over a “2 by” fence rail? It seems like Burlingham seems to be the only game in town, but that can’t really be the case, can it? They are $260 for a set of 12, which seems a bit pricey for what they are.
The fence is HDPE so it’s not really an option to buy the ones that you can nail to a wall. And it’s an outdoor, so needs to be able to withstand weather.
Do they need to be removable? If not you can get stencils and spray paint directly onto the fence. I’ve also seen stick on ones specifically for dressage.
https://www.statelinetack.com/item/dressage-adhesive-arena-letters/SLT310381/
I made letters by buying coroplast sign material and ~6" stick on letters at staples. Cost was something like $20 and 15mins of work. I just hole punched and tied them to the fence, but you could also nail/screw them in place, and you could also do something similar but nicer with pieces of plywood or similar and paint/stencils.
I don’t know what HDPE is, but I use outdoor vinyl for our dressage letters. It’s rated for 7 year use and is sticky, but removable.
does your fence allot for brackets or clips over the top rail.
a C shape or a box shaped with one open side, if you will
that can set over the top rail
that would allow you to attach a plywood panel with a letter on it.
you might poke around the hardware stord to see
Is this something you made yourself or did you find letters on outdoor vinyl?
HDPE is a type of plastic. Basically recycled water bottles. Looks just like a standard 4 rail fence.
I made mine myself. You can probably find something on Etsy or I can help you out if it’s something you’re interested in. I can take a pic of ours Saturday.
You can make your own. i use 9x12 sheets of white plexiglass. Rather than buy pre-cut pieces, I buy big sheets and cut into the size rectangles I want; it is much less expensive than buying pre-cut. Then buy a pack of stick on black vinyl letters and apply them. On the back attach hanging brackets like these. The ones pictured are stainless steel and 6 for $15 from Amazon. But any brand of over the door hooks will do to hang the letters. Just make sure they have holes already drilled in them.
outdoor adhesive vinyl letters on amazon
Westcott-LetterCraft
I used vinyl adhesive letters on blank plastic license plates.
I don’t think I paid quite that much for mine, but I wouldn’t recommend them. Two of the 12 letters completely faded away within the first couple years so those two are now just white rectangles! The others are all still perfectly legible. Really strange.
I bought these letter cones for $70: https://www.bigdweb.com/product/code/10635.do?msclkid=a7c1bdcbdb64194f08a7d9e095b5c777&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=NX_NTM_Shopping_PLA&utm_term=4581458795839550&utm_content=JUMPING%20EQUIPMENT%20%26%20MOUNTING%20STEPS
Then I went to Home Depot and had them cut up a thick plank (2" I think) that was an inch or so wider than the base. There are holes on the base of those cones for screws. I bought a bag of screws and white spray paint and a bag of playground sand (or use your arena sand). I spray painted those chunks of wood white, then stuff a ziplock baggie full of sand into the cone before screwing it onto the wood bases. Guaranty they don’t blow away. Ovation also sells a package of the stick on letters, in case any of them ever come loose. I bought a pack and put those away, but have not needed them yet. You can also buy plain cones and get large vinyl letters from Amazon.
This is a great idea. Stupid question - do you just drill a hole through the plexiglass?
I also like this idea. I’m wondering about using 6x6 posts rather than the cones and attaching them to something heavy, like a rubber paver. Maybe put a post cap on top to make it look more finished.
Yes. But buy a drill bit with a 60 degree point to help avoid cracking the plexiglass. The bits will be labeled as bits for plastic.
The same place that I linked to sells the replacement stick on dressage letters for the cones for $16.95, which you could stick on lots of things (like 5 gallon buckets with lids and rocks in the bottom). I also bought a set of paper letter stencils from Amazon and spray painted A-B-C-E on my arena fencing for reference. I used spray paint; taped the letters on and some brown paper to protect the fence.
This is what I did, although I bought the stencils locally, from a hardware store. Previously, I had commercially available dressage letters of some sort of plastic, which didn’t hold up long-term.
These brackets would work well to attach wood or plastic letters to a fence temporarily (the ones in the previous link would not be likely to stay put in my windy area):
Buy 2" rail hooks ( sold for window boxes or similar) and stick letters to them.
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