'His spirit was fire': Motocross community revers SD teen biker Reed Boyer

He was known for throwing “no-footers” on his finish line jumps, releasing both feet from the pegs of his dirt bike to completely stretch his legs while airborne, like wings.In motocross racing, Reed Boyer would “amaze people” with his many tricks in the air, said fellow rider Caden Enright, often “throwing whips when you would least expect it.”Reed could even land a “Superman,” Enright says, the iconic aerial trick when a rider launches off a jump, “no feet on the bike, just hands,” like a hero soaring.Reed, a 13-year-old champion dirt bike racer beloved in his hometown of Hudson, South Dakota, and even more so among area motocross families, died Oct. 31 after his bike collided with another while riding near Newton Hills.The second rider, 18-year-old Hunter Gano, also of Hudson, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.Funeral services for Reed will be held Saturday in Hudson.“He had a personality with no end and a smile that lit up any room he was in,” said his great aunt Jo Cotton. “Heaven just got a lot brighter and noisier.”A champion on and off the dirt trackReed’s dad, Matt Boyer, said his son was a champion racer, winning often at his favorite Fiddler Creek MX in Homer, Nebraska. He won four championships at Sioux Valley Cycle Club just north of Sioux Falls, one at MX at the Dex in Huron and many at the Midwest Supercross in Sioux Falls.Family friend and motocross ambassador Zack Kounkel said he will be raffling off his 2025 Yamaha YZ125 Monster Energy bike during the upcoming Midwest Supercross races in November at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds, with all proceeds going toward Reed’s family.“He was my little buddy,” Kounkel said. “He was going to get a bigger dirt bike, so I let him try mine out.” That’s the bike being given away.“I’m going to miss him so much,” he said. “I love that kid.”Dustin Peterson, who co-owns Peterson Racing and has watched Reed ride since he was 5 years old, calls motocross “a very small community.”“You know which kid belongs to which family,” Kounkel said. “You know who’s been injured or who’s moving up a class, who’s been working on something all summer. As parents, you start recognizing their trucks before you even know who’s driving.“You watch these kids grow up together, one race weekend at a time,” he said.More: Meet the families raising the next generation of dirt track racers.The younger, “beginner” riders had their eye on Reed, too.Lowell Anderson, a former neighbor to the Boyers, said he saw Reed as someone his kids could look up to.“Watching this boy grow up was a god blessing,” Anderson said. “He would stop by just to chat about cars, racing or fishing. When he saw me come home, he would holler, ‘Watch this!’ and it was always a new jump or trick. His spirit was fire." Reed’s racing number, 747, was named after the speed of a Boeing jet.“I never saw him sit still," Anderson said. Lacey Erickson said when she moved to the Alcester area, Reed became “the biggest influence” on her son, Bryson. The two boys would make videos while riding together near the Boyers’ home. Reed was an “all-star” who taught her son about riding, Erickson said.“He was a good, kind soul,” she said. “Exactly what my son needed.”Another neighbor, Shelley Vos, called Reed “a mentor” to her grandson, Ayden, who looked up to Reed “as a hero” in motocross. She said Reed was “a bonus child” who could walk right into her home without knocking, “knew exactly where the snacks were” and was always encouraging to Ayden.“He was so much more to us than the kid next door,” Vos said. “He was family.”Friends made at the starting gateLike Reed, Kounkel also grew up riding motocross and still races today.“Nobody really talks about the friendships our kids make at the track,” he said. “It’s the kid they line up beside every weekend. The one they spend half the day trying to beat then end up sitting next to eating a hot dog an hour later.”Enright says he and Reed would share an entire jar of pickles every Saturday before races. It started as a fix for muscle cramps but became a tradition.“I’m sad we won’t be able to eat pickles together anymore,” Enright says. “But other friends and I will eat pickles in his honor.”Then they’ll tear through the gates and soar. Like Reed.Related: How the leader of a Dakota women’s society holds Flandreau through grief.If You GoPeterson Racing’s 2026 Midwest SuperCross will be Nov. 27-28 at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds in Sioux Falls. During the event, Zack Kounkel will be selling raffle tickets for his 2025 Yamaha YZ125 Monster Energy motocross dirt bike, with all proceeds going toward the Boyer family. Tickets are $100.On Dec. 12, Waddy’s Shop in Hudson will host a dinner and silent auction, with all proceeds supporting the Boyer family.Angela George covers trending and breaking news for the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Email Angela.George@Lee.net.This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: 'His spirit was fire': Motocross community revers SD teen biker Reed Boyer