Meet Christine Prince | Wife, Mother and Dude Rancher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christine Prince and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christine, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
There are people who get to a cliff and peek over with trepidation and apprehension and then there are those who run towards the edge and plunge over headfirst. That describes what transpired in 1996. After vacationing at Cherokee Park Ranch with our family for 4 summers, we bought the ranch. Both my husband and I come from a medical background, and this adventure was definitely out of our comfort zone. But JUMP we did! Initially, the plan was for us all to move to the ranch and begin our career as dude ranchers. A small glitch was thrown into our plans when my husband’s partners asked him to stay in TN until they found a replacement for him. Thus, began the 3 years of running a business with our 4 children (ages 13,11, 9, 9) on my own. It was scary and exciting all at the same time. If I had known where that jump was going to land us, I would have taken the plunge years before.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As mentioned earlier, my background is medicine. I was a nurse and married an Internal Medicine medical doctor. What I have learned most from my personal experience is that nothing is impossible when you dedicate yourself to the task at hand. I was once asked what qualified me to run a ranch and my response was quick. I have given birth to 4 children, and ran a household for 17 years prior to buying a ranch. I think that qualifies me to do just about anything else. I came from a large family and it was not uncommon for our table to have extra mouths to feed 5 out of 7 nights a week. Feeding the multitudes was a part of my upbringing. The biggest challenge was the work/life balance. Being a dude rancher means being a stand-in Mom for 24-30 young college kids every summer, hosting families from all over the world and saving a sliver of time for my own family. There just never seemed to be enough time for everyone. I remember when our children were young that I when my head would hit the pillow I would not be able to recall if I had had any time to even talk to my own children about their day. Waking the following day to make sure that I spent time with them. Then the recurring feeling the next night with the worry of not spending enough time with our staff and showing them the appreciation that they so deserved. It was just a vicious circle. Was the job easy, definitely not. Was it worth all of the sacrifices, definitely! Our children learned so many life skills by serving others and it was such a great environment for them. Rarely do children not benefit from contributing to a family business. My biggest take away is that all you have to do is believe and then get to work!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Since we live an hour from a jug of milk, I would saddle up and take my best friend on a trail ride up into the mountains. Nothing gets your head screwed on tighter than roaming astride a horse across rivers and loping through open meadows. It might seem too simple. But, getting back to the basics of being outside with fresh air and surrounded by nature does something to your soul. It renews, rejuvenates and energizes your spirit. It doesn’t have to be for a week, because a couple of hours in the woods (totally disconnected from all devices) feels like a week-long vacation.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
In my life the Lord Jesus Christ deserves ALL of the credit for where I come from, who I am, what I have accomplished, and where I am going. Secondly, my family from my incredible parents, and siblings to the man I have been blessed to be married to for the past 46 years. Without the love and support from our 4 great children, our business would not have been as successful as it is today.

Website: https://www.cherokeeparkranch.com

Image Credits
Caree S Prince, photographer