{"id":6277,"date":"2011-12-26T06:44:37","date_gmt":"2011-12-26T14:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/?p=6277"},"modified":"2011-12-26T10:57:37","modified_gmt":"2011-12-26T18:57:37","slug":"sierra-madre-hometown-hero-john-shear-to-return-to-work-opening-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/?p=6277","title":{"rendered":"Sierra Madre “Hometown Hero” John Shear to Return to Work at Santa Anita on Opening Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/em><\/a>

The Medal of Valor is placed on Mr. Shear by Henry Amparan of CSFA<\/p><\/div>\n

Originally Posted 12\/22\/11, 4:44pm\u00a0– Santa Anita Park Press Release<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0Longtime Paddock Guard John Shear, who was seriously injured while protecting a young girl from a loose horse on March 12, was a Santa Anita press box visitor Thursday and informed that he would be back in action on opening day. As a result of his heroic act, Shear has been honored by the cities of Arcadia and Sierra Madre (News Net editor’s note: <\/em>and the California State Firefighter’s Association<\/em><\/a>).<\/em>\u201cMy doctor said I\u2019m okay to come back to work,\u201d said Shear, who will turn 91 on Jan. 17. \u201cI\u2019ll be back at my same job, which is Paddock Supervisor. I\u2019ve been doing a lot of physical therapy and I can\u2019t wait to get back to work, to see all the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shear, a former hot walker, groom, exercise rider and trainer, has been employed seasonally at Santa Anita since Dec. 23, 1961.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that time, I was working in the parking lot, but I wanted to be around the people and the horses,\u201d said the English native.<\/p>\n

Shear, who suffered multiple fractures, including a broken pelvis, as well as life-threatening internal bleeding, has been exercising regularly at a local gym, readying for a comeback.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been going three days a week and I\u2019m doing a lot of back and leg stretches. I\u2019m also doing 10 pound curls with each arm and except for my left knee, I think I\u2019m 100 percent\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what he\u2019s missed most during his period of convalescence, Shear was quick to respond.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve missed the people the most. Just talking to everyone. I have people come up and they say they can\u2019t believe I\u2019m still here, that they remember me from when they used to come to the races with their parents or grandparents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI miss the camaraderie of being around the jockeys and everyone who works here. I love Santa Anita and I love coming to work here,\u201d Shear added.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn is a fabulous person and a great employee,\u201d said Santa Anita President George Haines. \u201cHaving him back with us on opening day, after all that he\u2019s been through, is a dream come true and we know there are many, many people who are looking forward to seeing him back at work.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he marks his 50th anniversary working at The Great Race Place, Shear admits \u201cMy wife and my son both want me to retire. But what am I going to do? I\u2019m not going to just sit home and look at four walls. I told my family that I\u2019m not on any timetable. I\u2019m taking each year as it comes and I\u2019ll see how I feel.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, I can\u2019t wait for Monday, it\u2019s going to be special.\u201d<\/p>\n

First post time on Monday is 12 noon. For more information or to make dining or seating reservations, go to www.santaanita.com<\/a>, or call (626) 574-RACE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally Posted 12\/22\/11, 4:44pm\u00a0– Santa Anita Park Press Release\u00a0\u00a0Longtime Paddock Guard John Shear, who was seriously injured while protecting a young girl from a loose horse on March 12, was a Santa Anita press box…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[141],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6277"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6277\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}