Doug Maddox Memorial Senior Breeder

Doug Maddox Memorial Senior Breeder of the Year

Patrick Amarante of Lazy-A Holsteins is the recipient of the 2022 Doug Maddox Memorial Senior Breeder Award, the most prestigious honor a California Holstein Association member can receive.

A third-generation dairy farmer, Patrick Amarante built his Lazy-A herd, located in Gustine, CA, on solid pedigrees such as the Idas, the Laurie Sheiks, the Dixies, the Kareys and the Elegance cow families. Before its dispersal in 2016, the herd had a consistent rolling herd average near 26,000M per cow per year, and won the Quality Award from California Dairies a total of seven times. In addition to outstanding production and milk quality, the herd also had outstanding type with a total of 85 Excellent cows and 423 Very Good cows carrying the Lazy-A prefix. That group of homebred Excellent cows includes 26 scored between 91 and 93 points. Pat was always willing to invest

2022 Doug Maddox Senior Breeder of the Year, Patrick Amarante, with daughter Lacey and her husband, Adam Van Exel. Lazy-A Golchip Eva-3-ET (EX-92) was All-California Senior 3-Year-Old in 2018 as well as Intermediate Champion of the California State Show that same year. Her granddaughter was the winning fall calf at the 2022 Western Classic for Patrick’s grandchildren, Madison, Atlee & Henry Van Exel.

in great genetics, and to willing use embryo transfer on his best cows. Several of those highscoring cows hail from their well-known show cow, Villarosa B C Ida EX96, who was exhibited by Pat’s daughter Lacey. Ida’s illustrious show career included numerous AllCalifornia and Junior AllCalifornia titles, and she was the HM Junior AllAmerican Aged Cow in 2004. The dairy operation was originally founded by Pat’s grandparents, Antonio and Anne Amarante and the work was continued by Pat’s father, Floyd. In 1973, Pat and his brother Larry took over the dairy, and in 1994, Pat became the sole operator of Lazy-A Holsteins. A milking herd dispersal was held in 2013, and the Grand Finale Heifer Dispersal took place in 2016. The Lazy-A blood continues to have an impact in California. The winning fall calf at the 2022 Western Classic is a granddaughter of Lazy-A Goldchip Eva-3-ET EX-92, who herself had been Intermediate Champion at the CA State Fair in 2017 and AllCalifornia Senior 3-Year-Old and Intermediate Champion at the State Show in 2018. Pat retired completely from the dairy business in 2016, though he still attends Holstein shows and sales. He now resides in Pismo Beach with his wife of two years, Marla. He enjoys walking his dogs on the beach, following the San Francisco Giants, and watching his grandkids compete in various activities, including showing cattle. His son, Marcus, currently works for California Dairies and lives in Waterford, CA. Pat’s daughter, Lacey, is married to Adam Van Exel, and she works for Van Exel Dairy in Lodi, CA. Pat has five grandchildren: Miles & Luke Amarante and Madison, Atlee & Henry Van Exel.

Past Senior Breeder Award Winners

1958 Chris Rasmussen 1959 E.E. Freeman 1960 Frank L. Pellissiar 1961 Earl & Marguarite Graham 1962 Hubert Kidd 1963 Frank & Adelia Hopkins 1964 Mark L. Borrer 1965 Max Herzog 1966 Frank S. Corda 1967 Wesley N. Sawyer 1968 James Reed 1969 Joe Trindade, Jr. 1970 Leo Hedegard 1971 Harold Schmidt 1972 Wallace Lindskoog 1973 Walter D. Ranney 1974 Henry Sterk 1975 Alvin Quist 1976 Hugh D. Good 1977 Harmon B. Toone 1978 Robert Selkirk 1979 Roy Boone 1980 Allen Johnson 1981 Frank Muthner 1982 Tom A. Nunes, Jr. 1983 Amelio Curti 1984 Kip Herzog 1985 Doug Maddox 1986 Joe Duarte 1987 Wilbur E. Gomes 1988 John Wackerman 1989 Anton Betschart 1990 Marvin Nunes 1991 Tom Sawyer 1992 Paul Rollin 1993 Emilio & Alvin Groppetti 1994 Frank Santos 1995 Dan Ranney 1996 Joe Airosa 1997 Paulo Bro Holsteins 1998 George & Mimi Nunes 1999 Bill & Giovanna Zinn 2000 Louis Aufdemaur 2001 Art & Connie Avrit 2002 Ed & Bettie Bracco 2003 Bernard & Frieda Souza 2004 Gilbert & Linda Teixeira 2005 Bill & Libby Clark 2006 Leo & Louie Durrer 2007 Hank & Carolyn Van Exel 2008 Ed, Bill & Jim Genasci 2009 Jack Lerch & Larry Gerber 2010 Dennis & Kirsten Areias 2011 George & Dora McClelland 2012 Joey Airosa 2014 Ron Pietersma 2015 Frank & Carol Borba 2016 Pat & Steve Maddox 2017 Dino & Dante Migliazzo 2018 Mike & Denise Mulas 2019 Ken Melvold 2020 Duane & Dale Matheron 2021 Dwayne & Irene Nelson