Even when her
hat and wig flew
off during her
opening ride
with her horse
Picker last week
at the North
American Young
Riders’
Championships in
Lexington, Ky.,
the 19-year-old
from Carseland,
who just came
off her second
surgery for
brain cancer,
didn’t think to
say, “Whoah.”
“I just thought
‘that sucks,’ ”
but I wasn’t
going to stop
and give up,”
said Malmberg,
who was part of
the four-member
team from
Alberta, which
took part in the
annual
competition that
ran from July 28
to Aug. 1.
The courageous
ride, which saw
the crowd of
equine
enthusiasts
erupt, earned
her a
second-place
ribbon in the
“welcome ride”
and helped
secure a first
place gold medal
for the Alberta
squad.
The competition,
one step below
the World
Equestrian
Games, is a
showcase of
horsemanship and
riding skill
that attracts
the continent’s
best young
riders.
But Malmberg is one of a kind.
On July 17, she underwent her second surgery for brain
cancer, discovered during an MRI after a car accident.
Despite going through chemotherapy, she jumped on a
plane nine days later, no thought in her mind of sitting
out the big event.
“It wasn’t that bad — pretty much as soon as I got out
of the hospital, I was riding my horse,” Malmberg said.
“The whole thing is pretty cool but I’m just glad we won
it for Canada and Alberta — I’m more happy our team came
through.”
Arriving Monday night at the Calgary International
Airport with her beaming parents, Darin and Lorna,
Malmberg is scheduled to start six-week long radiation
treatments on Tuesday morning.
Darin struggled to find the words to describe how he
felt, watching his daughter, still almost hairless from
the chemotherapy, continue to push forward for her
award-winning ride. “After everything she’s been through
it’s just amazing,” he said.
“I know she was worried about (losing her hat) and she
kind of stumbled for a microsecond but then it’s like
she said ‘Screw it,’ and then the whole crowd was
cheering like you wouldn’t believe.”
Malmberg said she’s taking some time off work while
dealing with her brain cancer but has no doubt she’ll
recover and has future plans for a career with horses
and perhaps an appearance at the World Equestrian Games.
By SHAWN LOGAN, CALGARY SUN
ac.aidemnus@nagol.nwahs
