Franklin and Jan Smith did not envision the elaborate event location now known as Smith Ranch when they bought 40 acres of rice paddy in 1998 on Beckendorff Road in Katy.
“We started out and dug a lake. We built a baseball diamond and a little training center,” Franklin said. “[What we are now] came about in 2006 to 2008 when the housing market went to hell. The [Smith] ranch was slowly built over the years.”
In addition to livestock and other family animals, the couple had taken in dozens of rescue animals, including 20 miniature horses.
When faced with financial hardship during the economic downturn of the mid-2000s, Franklin said he told his wife she needed to find a way to pay for the upkeep of all their animals—that was when the couple came up with the idea for an event venue at the ranch.
“I started doing parties and corporate events and weddings,” Jan said. “I wanted to do something kind of different. We’re kind of a jack-of-all-trades.”
Today, the Smith Ranch is a well-known location in the Katy area for private parties, such as weddings, birthday parties, corporate events, fundraising events, family reunions and others types of gatherings, Jan said.
“Our biggest use is birthday parties,” Jan said. “We have all sorts of animals. We have pony rides. We do corporate events, like team-building.”
Jan Smith said corporate team-building events are popular.
“We’ve had several corporations come out and do the team-building, bonding,” she said. “They [play] tetherball, [have] paddleboat races, a lot of times they’ll just do their own thing.”
The couple said although the venue is private and must be reserved to be used, there are three events open to the public each year that have an admission cost—Easter, the Fourth of July and Halloween. [totalpoll id="165201"]
“The Easter event has turned into one of our biggest events,” Jan said. “[Children] hunt [for eggs] based on their age. We have more than 500 people come out for that.”
The 40-acre property is a short drive from the Grand Parkway and has dozens of amenities and features to entertain attendees of any age, Jan said. Ranch amenities include a petting zoo with miniature animals, a dance hall with indoor seating, a 1-acre lake with an island, paddle-powered boats and several playgrounds for children.
“We cater toward kids. I like kids,” Jan said. “[As a parent] our house was the house where everyone would stay. We enjoy the kids and watching them have a good time.”
The business is run by the entire Smith family, including the couple’s three children.
The ranch is also home to Grand Cheer, a cheerleading academy operated by the couple’s two sons.
“We try to thrive on the fact [it is] family-run,” Jan said. “We’re all one big happy family.”
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