Remembering trampled rodeo rider Coy Lutz’s ‘contagious smile’

The sister of Coy Lutz, the rodeo rider killed in an accident at the Cowtown Rodeo in Woodstown on Saturday remembered her brother's "contagious smile" in a lengthy Facebook post.

"Anyone you ask about Coy, even if they've only met him once, says amazing things about him. He was the most polite, well-mannered, level-headed, God-loving, passionate, positive man I know. He was our baby brother and best friend," wrote Laura Lutz of her younger brother

The 19-year-old died on Saturday when he fell off his horse and was trampled during an event at Cowtown.

Lutz was a freshman at the University of Tennessee Martin.

"For the past year, he had the time of his life at UT Martin. He absolutely loved it there and made friends that became family. What's even better is that Tyler Waltz was down there helping coach! His role model was there to push him along the way closer to his dreams."

Rawhide Rodeo Company, where Coy worked as an instructor, posted on its Facebook page that "Coy was a great friend, always making people laugh, and he had become a great competitor. He worked hard to become a top contender and always helped anyone who needed it with a big smile on his face."

Laura Kutz said she wrote the following statement "so words don't get twisted and everyone can look back on his passion for the sport:"

My father was in the Army and he learned about the sport when he was stationed in Germany. My dad was looked up to by many because he rode well but when him and my mom came back to the states, he never continued bareback riding. He actually did "bull fighting." That is the cowboy that saves the bull riders when they fall off the bull. So all our life me, my sister Melanie, and Coy grew up around the sport of rodeo. My siblings always said they wanted to do it one day. My sister fell in love with barrel racing but life got in the way and she couldn't pursue her dream. So as Coy got older, he'd begged my parents constantly to ride bulls.

Well finally they gave in but my mom said he needs to be ready for this, we aren't just throwing him on a bull and wishing him the best. So that's why Dave Waltz and Tyler Waltz came into the picture. They live in Jersey Shore which is only about 30 minutes from Howard, where we live. They had a bucking machine for Coy to practice on because Dave was a well known bull rider in his younger days. Now Tyler was into bareback riding but Coy still wanted to try Bulls. Well anyway, they practiced away and Tyler became Coy's role model very quickly. He looked up to him in so many ways from his passion for the sport to his great faith he has in the Lord.

After Coy broke his jaw at the national high school finals rodeo in Wyoming, he decided bareback horses were the way to go. This is when Coy truly began to shine. With the help of my dad, Tyler, and Dave he became a superstar within the rodeo community quickly. He competed in the high school rodeo associations for both Pennsylvania and New York. He exceeded every year he rode (from 9th grade to 12th) every year he qualified for nationals! A rodeo coach from Tennessee Martin noticed his talent, amazing passion, and great character and wanted him on the team. For the past year, he had the time of his life at UT Martin. He absolutely loved it there and made friends that became family. What's even better is that Tyler Waltz was down there helping coach! His role model was there to push him along the way closer to his dreams.

Anyone you ask about Coy, even if they've only met him once, says amazing things about him. He was the most polite, well-mannered, level-headed, God loving, passionate, positive man I know. He was our baby brother and best friend. He had a lot of best friends because of the type of person he was. He was my dads best friend, I know that. And my moms little boy. He was 19 still sitting on mommas lap when he wanted to guilt her into something haha he was also the funniest person I've ever known. The kid was so witty and made everyone laugh. Such a contagious smile! ...

He was the most amazing person I know, and I know he's in Heaven looking down smiling that contagious smile. I know he was loved by so many and his passion for the sport will carry on. He was my best friend. I'm going to be working on creating a rodeo scholarship in his name eventually once all this calms down so look forward to that!

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.