LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The family of an 11-year-old Jeffersontown boy who died in an ATV crash last month got to meet the Kentucky Derby horse with the same name as their son.
Jace Kullman died in a freak ATV accident in April. This week, his family met Derby contender Jace's Road, something they said they needed that brought them some happiness for the first time in weeks.
"It's the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with, either of us have ever had to deal with, on an emotional and physical level and most days feel impossible," Patrick Kullman said.Â
Patrick and Lynlee Kullman. (WDRB photo)
Kullman's son, Jace, a 5th grader at Saint Edward Catholic School in Jeffersontown, died in an ATV incident, doing what he loved in one of his favorite places.
"Jace was the light in the room, and when Jace walked into a room, you could feel it," Patrick Kullman said.Â
Jace's bedroom is still perfectly in place, filled with his favorite things, reminders of faith, and a horseshoe for good luck at his doorway.
His parents describe him as adventurous, smart, kind, patient and understanding, with a contagious smile.
But despite their grief, there is one thing the Kullmans don't ask: "Why?"
Jace Kullman (Family photo)
"Why comes without the understanding of what happens next," said Patrick Kullman.Â
They are forever grateful for the 11 years they had with their son.
"Understanding that everything happens for a reason, and I don't always get to question the reasons involved," Patrick Kullman said. "That's faith."
But it doesn't make their loss easy. However, for this Derby family, there came a small turning point when the horse bearing their son's name made it into the 149th Kentucky Derby.
"Jace loved animals, he had a spiritual connection with animals," Lynlee Kullman said.Â
This week, Patrick and Lynlee Kullman, and Jace's little sister Cameron, were invited to meet Jace's Road, providing a moment of relief from their grief.
"The feelings that we felt that day, I hadn't experienced excitement in almost 30 days, or joy, and we got to feel all of those emotions," Patrick Kullman said.
Not a day goes by the Kullman family doesn't think about Jace. They're reminded of him in quiet moments and randomly out of the blue. But they want others to take away a message from his life he recorded in a TikTok video: "Focus on the good things in life, and be grateful for everything." It's the same message now recorded in a Build-a-Bear for his little sister.
This Build-a-Bear belongs to Cameron Kullman, the little sister of Jace Kullman, who died in an ATV crash in April 2023. It holds a recording of her brother saying "Focus on the good things in life, and be grateful for everything." (WDRB photo)
The Kullmans said they'll be betting on Jace's Road to win, place, show for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
"That moment of hearing people yell 'Go Jace go,' that is the moment we're hanging on for, that's holding us together right now," Patrick Kullman said.
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