Richmond Skate Ranch!

Thought I would give a shout out to the Ranch, and a big thanks to Kevin Harris for building this......If you were from Vancouver and skated in the 80's chances are you skated the Richmond Skate Ranch!


Ranch was built in 1986, and hosted the Expo vert ramp from the Vancouver expo 86 vert contest. there were a couple different locations for that park, the first time I went (location #1) it was amazing! I had skateboarded for a while but had never seen an indoor. This park was home to the mini Chin ramp, that was an incredible design for the time, with a killer wallride etc. Lance mountain did the design, and it was super fun mini, and still out of all of the ramps you skate in life that one still stands out in my mind. 


The ranch hosted the "Mini Chin Challenge" back then, me and my buddies bused it all the way there from Coquitlam, a bit of a bus ride for a gang of 10 and 12 year olds. The closer you got to Richmond the more skaters ended up on the same bus, by the end it was a pack, I remember some huge guy doing ho ho plants at the bus stop.......


Contest was sick... Hosoi nose manuals stand out, and who I think was Eddie Reategui slashing the top of the wall ride. after was the infamous sticker toss...Ho ho at the bustop guy walked away with a dog town street deck after clearly tossing kids off it to get it. I walked out with a ton of stickers, and a magazine, and my buddy, a winning scratch and win ticket. good times. 


once the park moved to location # 2, then the layout changed, I will always remember how it was all connected together, back then it was hard to find a ramp, let alone a good ramp, what Harris did is tied it all together, every ramp was connected through hips and spines.......one of the coolest parks to date. and produced some pretty sick skaters.....Sluggo, Colin Mckay, Rick Howard.


The part I remember the most is the sound of the coping clack as you walk up to it...and the adrenaline that would induce instantly......excitement hell ya. 


Regardless if you rode the Ranch consider yourself blessed.......

             






















                                                 Ben Schroeder at Chin challenge

Colins old part from Powell Propaganda, some of the only video footage of The Ranch I can find, (Langley park is in there too, sick also)