Meet the hard-working and whole-hearted Pucketts, PureWest clients who uphold a 95-year-old tradition of hospitality in Gallatin Canyon.
Kurt and Melissa Puckett welcome with open arms anyone who knocks on the door of the Covered Wagon Guest Ranch. Neither of them grew up thinking they would ever own and operate a family-friendly guest ranch in Southwest Montana, but they would not have it any other way.
After growing up in northern Georgia, Kurt found his way to the Covered Wagon Guest Ranch in the spring of 1998. Then-owner Will King drove Kurt down to the corrals in his pickup and told Kurt, “Go catch that horse.” Kurt was offered a job as a wrangler on the spot.
Melissa, on the other hand, has her roots in Montana. She comes from a family of ranchers on both sides and has always had an affinity for horses. Her mother and grandmother both rodeoed, and her grandmother “took (her) under her wing and put horses in my brain.”
The couple met after Melissa had graduated from school in Dillon with plans to become a teacher and Kurt was working for a big cow outfit in Harrison, Montana. When Kurt got a call in 2011 from the owners saying they were planning to retire, Kurt convinced Melissa to buy the ranch with him, and two years later they were the new owners of the Covered Wagon.
Melissa and Kurt's guest ranch is unique in more ways than one —
“To us, the ranch is home, but a lot of guests consider it their home, too.”
The Covered Wagon Guest Ranch provides a special, indescribable feeling that makes it feel like home to not only the Pucketts, but to anyone who comes to visit as well. Guests will return year after year, with some coming to stay over the course of forty years. 
“It’s a place where people come and get to take a step back.”
Another stand-out quality of the Covered Wagon is that it does not keep guests on a schedule. Visitors design their own days based on how they are feeling and wanting to do that day. Melissa and Kurt will visit with their guests over coffee, and “bring (them) into our world,” and get a feel for what the guests are wanting their day to look like. Sometimes people want to go for a full-day of horse-back riding, and other times they would just like to relax and go hiking after lunch, for example.
“We raise and train performance and ranch horses.”
Most of the ranch’s guests are experienced riders, but for those who are not, Melissa and Kurt provide a teaching program. They are extremely passionate about their horsemanship. “It’s what we’re known for. It’s our passion, our love.”
Having both grown up on ranches, the Pucketts value the traditions of working hard outdoors, and they try to instill this in their two children. Melissa and Kurt also feel it is important to instill in their two boys the importance of being friendly and welcoming towards people no matter their background. In the evenings at the Covered Wagon Guest Ranch, everyone is invited to gather for a family-style dinner, including the guests, staff, and the Pucketts. As Melissa puts it, “We have people who could own the state of Montana, and people who saved up five years to come to the ranch, and when they sit down together at dinner, they become great friends. It’s the best feeling in the world to see that.”
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