Heroic Idea Sparked by Oxnard Native

“We can’t all be heroes,” Will Rogers once observed, “because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.”

This Saturday past, at a small-town parade in Arizona, Rogers had it a little wrong: nobody was sitting on the curb clapping for the heroes.

            At the Prescott Frontier Days Parade the spectators all stood to applaud and honor the 19 elite Granite Mountain Hotshots who perished on June 30 while fighting an out-of-control inferno.

            The parade route on July 6 looked like it could have been the Fourth of July on any Main Street, USA. Indeed, little imagination is needed to picture the parade going through downtown Ventura or Fillmore or Oxnard.

            In fact, Oxnard played a key role in the Prescott Frontier Days Parade for it was a local native son who had the idea to honor the fallen heroes with a riderless horse.

Brian Besser graduated from Oxnard High in 1971, two years behind his brother John. They well know that what happened to the Hotshots could happen here when the Santa Ana winds howl.

The “Besser Boys” also know about horses. In fact, they may have an equestrian gene. When their mother Barbara was in high school in the late 1930s, she frequently rode with Carmelita Fitzgerald, the granddaughter of Adolfo Camarillo. As an adult Barbara rode the famed Camarillo White Horses – specifically the feisty “Paisano” – in the Hollywood Christmas Parade, among others.

“Throughout this period Brian seemed to develop an interest in the horses,” shares about his “kid brother,” adding: “I was more interested in one of Carmelita’s daughters.”

Fast forward. John is retired and living in Laguna Niguel while Brian has moved with his wife to Arizona near Prescott.

Prescott proudly claims to be Home of the World’s Oldest Rodeo, a weeklong extravaganza held annually over the Fourth of July period. The tragic deaths of the Hotshots hit the local community with a vengeance. It would be hard to throw a rope without lassoing someone who either personally knew one of the young firefighters or knows someone who did. Indeed, the brother of Brian’s neighbor was one of the 19. 

In past years, Brian has assembled an equestrian unit to represent the popular establishment Matt’s Saloon in the annual parade along celebrated Whiskey Row. As mentioned, this year he decided to honor the firefighters for their ultimate sacrifice with a single riderless horse.

Just as a deadly raging fire starts with a single spark, a small idea can grow significant given the right conditions. Thirty-six hours before the parade, Brian shared his plan with a neighbor and the kindle took flame with this reply: “Why not use NINETEEN riderless horses?”

            This seemed impossible given such short notice, even in a cowboy community. Understand, seemingly every horse within three ZIP Codes had either already been entered in the rodeo or was committed elsewhere in the parade.

            Just as the Hotshots were a unified crew, so is Prescott. Brian’s neighbor provided the name of a woman involved with the rodeo who might be able to help. She did. Some cowboys overheard and said, “We’re in!” Word quickly spread like, yes, wildfire, and just like that a Kentucky Derby field was assembled.

            Led by Brian and seven other riders each carrying an American flag at the front, with two more riders carrying Matt’s Saloon flags at the rear, the parade entry had 29 horses in all. But it was the 19 horses in the heart of the procession that caused throats to grow tight and tear ducts to loosen and made the spectators sitting on the curb stand up and clap.

The 19 horses were riderless, but not nameless – hanging on each saddle, in purple letters on a black background bringing to mind a Purple Heart medal, was the identity of a fire warrior. Too, resting on each saddle horn was a fire helmet, the majority of them classic red or yellow but a few are black or white. And in the stirrups, reversed, are empty work boots.

So solemn, so powerful. It is no wonder that the winner of the Chairman’s Award was no contest.

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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for the Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. His new memoir WOODEN & ME is available for pre-order at: www.WoodyWoodburn.com