In order to keep boredom at bay and sanity in check while at DIHP in California with a 17 year old for the winter, and to help keep the trainers, parents, grooms, and riders in our barn in good spirits and well fed, I started barbecuing lunch for our crew every Sunday, which quickly turned into our crew plus many of the friends we have made while here at DIHP. The food is always free and my friends are always welcome to stop by.

 

Sunday can be a pretty hectic day in the show jumping world with many barns packing up and leaving as soon as their last rider goes, which of course makes it pretty difficult for some to stop by. So in 2025 for the National Sunshine Series # 2, I switched it up to Saturday since so many people were leaving early that Sunday to go to the Vegas show. The change was much easier for me since most of our riders take Saturday off from competition and are all at the barn anyway to hack their horses, so getting our group fed was a breeze compared to Sundays where everyone is competing at different times. Everyone else seemed far less rushed as well but I did have a few people walk past and express a moment of panic thinking it was Sunday already. I stuck to Saturday for the barbecue for the duration of the 2025 season (Desert Holiday 1 & 2) and will be doing the same for the 2026 season.

 

On a typical barbecue day I can have quite q few people stop by and my capacity is limited by the fact that I am doing everything by myself and I am not exactly using commercial grade prepping, barbecuing, and smoking equipment. So when I am doing things like Ribs that take 6 hours just to smoke, on a smoker with the capacity for only 5 racks it becomes very challenging. I have acquired a new rack system for my smoker that should easily double the capacity. However for 2026 I will occasionally be using a Lonestar Grillz smoker which has the capacity to do as many as 33 full racks of ribs at a time.

 

I don’t really have a menu that I follow but I do have some of my own favorites and a few things that I get regular requests for. I have a different menu for each week and I typically have a side and salad to go with it. The weekly menu is always a surprise and sometimes it’s even a surprise to me, I’ll decide what I am making Tuesday or Wednesday then go to the store on Thursday or Friday to get everything and boom! The store has racks of lamb or something else on sale for half price and I abandon my original plan. There are a couple of things that are certain though, pork ribs will be on the menu as well as BBQ beef on a bun as they are my 2 favourite things to make on the smoker

 

Here is a list of the things I have made in the past and will continue making at least some of them and may even add some new ideas like Chicken Lollipops that were new for Desert Holiday 1 in 2025. Update: I made 45 Chicken Lollipops thinking it should be sufficient and they were gone in an hour, I seasoned up another 30 regular ones and smoked them just to keep everyone happy.

 

Deserts – Pies – Cakes – Cookies – Crumbles – Cobblers

Pizza – Wood Fired – Thin Crust – Homemade Sauce & Crust – Amazing

Tailgate Fare – Jalapeño Poppers – Texas Twinkies – Shotgun Shells – Pig Shots – Nachos – Ninja Crackers – Chicken Lollipops

Mains – Street Tacos – Sliders – Rack of Lamb – Burgers – BBQ Beef on a Bun – Beef Ribs - Pork Ribs – Brisket – Barbecued Prawns – Donair 

Sides – Barbecue Beans – Baked Potatoes – Corn on the Cob – Cajun Corn on the Cob – Spanish Rice – Caesar Salad – Garden Salad – Potato Salad – Cornbread Muffins – Smoked Salsa