Sports
Santa Anita Park Hero Honored by Sierra Madre City Council (video)
Sierra Madre resident John Shear saved a young girl from a charging horse at Santa Anita Park in March.
At the start of Tuesday's meeting, the Sierra Madre City Council took a few minutes to honor John Shear, the city’s .
At the request of Shear, Council Member MaryAnn MacGillivray presented him with an official letter of recognition from the city for what MacGillivray called “being a true hero.”
Shear, who gained local and national media attention when at in March, said that he wasn’t sure if he deserved the award, but appreciated it nonetheless. He also said that if the same situation presented itself again, he would do the same thing.
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That day, Shear cut off a 3-year-old horse that had broken free and charged toward the gate Shear was guarding. Without thought for his personal safety, Shear threw himself in front of a six-year-old girl that would have been trampled without his intervention.
Shear’s heroic act landed him in the hospital for with injuries that could be life threatening to anyone, and all the more for the 90-year-old Shear.
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MacGillivray said that she visited Shear in the hospital following the accident and that seeing him stand hear today to accept this award is nothing short of "miraculous.”