Footloose takes center stage

MADISON, Wis. – For the past 52 years, only one cow is etched in the annals of dairy cattle history as the reigning World Dairy Expo Supreme Champion. The cow to accomplish the feat at the 2022 WDE was Oakfield Solom Footloose-ET EX-94.

[[In-content Ad]]

Footloose captivated the audience at the International Holstein Show Oct. 7 in Madison. She won the 5-year-old cow class on her way to being named senior and grand champion of the show before being named Expo’s supreme champion.                                       
“What a tremendous 5-year-old class,” said judge Pierre Boulet. “If you don’t know what a dairy cow is, you check this cow ... lots of dairyness, bone quality, a great texture in the udder. The first one is for me an easy winner today with so much balance and so much length and width in the body.”
Boulet, of Montmagny, Quebec, Canada, was the official judge of the International Holstein Show.  
Footloose is owned by the partnership of Mike and Julie Duckett of Rudolph, Vierra Dairy of Hilmar, California, and Tim and Sharyn Abbott, of Enosburg, Vermont. Footloose is housed at Duckett Holsteins. Footloose was bred by Jonathan and Alicia Lamb of Oakfield Corners Dairy in Oakfield, New York.                                                            
Footloose first caught the attention of the Ducketts as a 2-year-old in 2019, when she placed fourth in her class at WDE and garnered an All-American nomination. A granddaughter of the Ducketts’ beloved Harvue Roy Frosty EX97-3E-GMD, who herself was a two-time WDE Supreme Champion, the Ducketts had an interest in the young cow.                                                                                                   
“I remember seeing Footloose as a 2-year-old,” Mike Duckett said. “I’d like to say I could see what she would become. I liked her, but I wasn’t 100% certain she would ever get to the next level.”
Duckett continued to watch Footloose as she developed into a 3-year-old. She won the junior 3-year-old class at the North American Open Show in Circleville, Ohio, and was named the reserve intermediate champion. She was named the 2020 All-American junior 3-year-old.
“I was impressed with how she had developed, but I still wasn’t convinced she would be great,” Duckett said.
The following spring, Footloose began to earn his respect and admiration when the Ducketts stopped at Oakfield Corners following the New York Spring Show.
“Julie and I stopped in planning on trying to get another high-profile cow for our sale that summer,” Duckett said. “Footloose was dry, and when I saw her, I just looked at Julie and said, ‘This is the one we want.’ She had changed so much in her frame in that dry period. She was on her way to the next level.”
After Footloose calved, Duckett asked the Abbotts to look at the cow.                                                                                                         
The Ducketts and Abbotts purchased Footloose that spring and then consigned her to sell in the Summer Selections sale. At that sale, Vierra Dairy entered the partnership by purchasing half interest in the cow.
Footloose went on to win the 4-year-old class at WDE for her new owners and was tapped as the reserve senior and reserve grand champion cow. She completed the 2021 show season being the unanimous All-American selection in the 4-year-old cow class.                                                                                                                                                                                   
“Footloose is just an easy cow,” Duckett said. “She just does it all on her own. She just stands back and does her own thing, and likes her own space. She doesn’t like to be messed with.”     
Sired by the popular Walnutlawn Soloman, Footloose is a daughter of Duckett-SA Braxtn Frisco-ET EX-94, a Regancrest S Braxton daughter of Frosty.
Footloose calved in June to become a fourth-calf 5-year-old. According to Duckett, she has been confirmed pregnant to Mr Danielle Devour-ET and is due back in early June 2023.
“If you painted Footloose black, you’d almost think it was Frosty standing back in the barn,” Duckett said. “There is so much about Footloose that reminds me of Frosty. The biggest difference is that Footloose is better from the rear view. She has such a tremendous rear udder. Frosty was a no-fuss kind of cow, and Footloose is the same.”
Duckett expressed his admiration of the breeding program at Oakfield Corners that created the cow he has come to love.
“Jonathan and Alicia have such a strong and diverse breeding program,” Duckett said. “They breed for the commercial dairy aspect, the genomic aspect and the type aspect. The success they have had in all three areas is impressive on its own, but they have been able to blend the three to make such complete cows.”
With her storied pedigree and her own outstanding phenotype, there is a growing demand for Footloose’s genetics.
“She has two really cool sons,” Duckett said. “When you combine cows that excel in the udder like Delta Missy and Treasure with a cow like Footloose, I think the possibilities are endless.”     
One son, Oakfield Tstrk Footprint, sired by OCD Thunder Struck-ET, is available and being marketed by AG3. Another son, sired by Duckett Crush Tatoo-ET, was born at Duckett Holsteins and will be entering stud soon.       
While Footloose’s accomplishments are not the first time the Ducketts have watched one of their cows claim victory under the spotlight, they said this victory was extraordinarily special because of the connection to their own breeding program.                                                                    
“It has been so special to bring this cow into our herd with us being the breeder of her dam,” Duckett said. “She is a dairy cow, no question. Out there under the lights, walking down the center of the Coliseum, she looked unreal. It was something I will never forget.”