Lon Lon Ranch

Lon Lon Ranch
Type	Ranch
Location	Hyrule
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Lon Lon Ranch is a recurring location that has appeared in several different The Legend of Zelda games. It is a ranch that is usually located in Hyrule Field and run by Talon. The ranch typically raises horses, cows and Cuccos, with the cows producing their signature Lon Lon Milk.

Appearances

Lon Lon Ranch was first seen in Ocarina of Time. In this game, it was located in the middle of Hyrule Field. Talon was its absentminded owner, and his young daughter Malon helped out with the horses. There other known employee was Ingo, who was constantly frustrated and resentful because he felt that all of the work was left up to him. One of the horses raised by the ranch was Epona, who would later become Link's horse. During the seven years of Ganondorf's reign, Ingo was able to take over Lon Lon Ranch due to his open allegiance to Ganondorf. Talon was kicked out of the ranch, but Ingo forced Malon to remain by threatening to hurt the horses. An older Link arrived and managed to beat Ingo in two subsequent horse races. In doing so, Link won Epona, who Ingo had been preparing to give to Ganondorf. Ingo attempted to keep Link from leaving, but he escaped anyway. Afterwards, Talon regained control of the ranch, and Ingo was kept on the staff, but he now acted openly submissive towards others. At the end of the game, a celebration of Ganondorf's defeat was held at the ranch, and it was attended by people from all over Hyrule.

A version of the ranch also appeared in Four Swords Adventures, located in the level known as The Field. In this level, the Links had to escort Malon back to Lon Lon Ranch. Once she was brought back there, Talon thanked them by allowing them to ride some of his horses. There was also another version in The Minish Cap, which appeared to be fairly small and was located near Hyrule Town. It was once more run by Talon and Malon. In this game, Talon accidentally locked himself out of the house, and Link had to shrink down to retrieve his spare key. Afterwards, Malon brought Epona to town to sell the ranch's milk. Addtionally, Link could trade Kinstones with the ranch's cow, who was named Elsie. In A Link Between Worlds, the ranch did not appear, but it was mentioned as the source of the milk that was sold at the Milk Bar, the owner of which resembled Talon.

In Breath of the Wild, Lon Lon Ranch was apparently among the area destroyed by the forces of Calamity Ganon. Its remains were found in Hyrule Field and known as the Ranch Ruins. The area was inhabited by a roaming Guardian Stalker and several Silver Bokoblins riding horses.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Lon Lon Ranch appeared in the Ocarina of Time manga, in a chapter based on Link's defeat of Ingo from the game.

Trivia

• It seems to be named in reference to Talon and Malon's names both ending in "-lon".
• The ranch's Termina counterpart is Romani Ranch, which is run by a pair of counterparts of Malon.
• During development of Ocarina of Time, Shigeru Miyamoto originally considered having Ingo set the ranch on fire to keep Link from leaving with Epona in order to have an action-packed escape sequence. He changed his mind after another member of the development team pointed out that Link should be able to return to the ranch afterwards.