The annual Katy Rodeo Parade, held Feb. 18, featured the usual assortment of bands, dignitaries and sponsors. But it also featured a rider who took an unusual path to the festivities.

Molly Maher is an eighth-grade student at Katy Junior High and horse enthusiast who, last year, joined the Texas Cowgirls, a mounted drill team. She’s also a cancer survivor, currently undergoing chemotherapy that is expected to end in April.

She rode her own horse in the parade, thanks to contributions from friends.

Cancer is no stranger to the Maher family. At the end of 2017, Tara Maher, Molly’s mother, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She responded to her treatments and is doing well today. In 2021, her father, Mitch Maher, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He responded to his treatments and is doing well today, also.

“Right as we got all of that behind us, over Christmas, early January, Molly was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma,” Mitch Maher, who is lead pastor at Redeemer Community Church, said.

Anita Mancini, the longtime Texas Cowgirls director, recalled how she took the call from Tara, saying that Molly couldn’t ride for a couple of weeks because she had to have a procedure. A couple weeks later, Mancini said, Tara called again. Molly had been diagnosed with cancer.

“It was devastating to us as a team and a family,” Mancini said. “The first thing we did was go home and study it.”

Molly has been undergoing chemotherapy and has responded well. She is expected to complete her chemotherapy treatments in April, Maher said.

The Texas Cowgirls rallied around their fellow cowgirl. Molly had been borrowing a horse to ride with the team, but she said she always wanted a horse of her own. Mancini spoke with Diane Walker of Stuff the Sleigh, which has worked with cancer patients and their families.

Mancini said that Stuff the Sleigh, along with the Shelter for Cancer Families, are among the groups that the Texas Cowgirls have donated to over the years. Each year, Mancini said, the Texas Cowgirls bake “Cowgirl Cookies” and sell them, with half the proceeds benefiting local nonprofits. Walker made some calls, and a horse was found and purchased.

Now it was time to give Molly the horse.

The team assembled for a drill at the Feb. 15 special rodeo at the L.D. Robinson Pavilion, which in turn is part of the Gerald D. Young Agriculture Services Center, 5801 Katy Hockley Cutoff Road. Molly did not have a horse when they arrived, but things were about to change.

Mancini asked Molly to hold the reins of a horse so she could go get something. Molly stood there, holding the horse by the reins. Meanwhile, she said, Walker got on the public address system and made a comment about one of the cowgirls wanting a horse.

At that moment, Molly said, Mancini came out with a paint horse that was now Molly’s. It was an emotional moment.

“I was crying, yeah,” Molly said.

The horse has since been renamed Texas Dream—Tex for short—and is a veteran of rodeos and competitions. The horse is being kept at Mancini family’s Blackwater Ranch just north of Katy. There the horse will stay. Some of the other cowgirls keep their horses there, Mitch Maher said. Meanwhile, arrangements are being made so Molly can take care of Tex.

“We just got the horse a few days ago,” Maher said.

At the parade, Molly rode Tex, who, as an experienced parade walker, did his thing. Fellow cowgirls and their horses surrounded Molly and Tex. Mitch walked alongside the group, as did some other parents. But it was easy to spot Molly and Mitch amongst the crowd. They had the biggest smiles.

For more information about the Texas Cowgirls, visit the website texascowgirls.com. For more information about Stuff the Sleigh, visit the website thesleigh.org. Donations are still being accepted for helping take care of Texas. For more information, visit the website flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MTc2NzU0.