Some cow families produce a great individual.
Very few produce greatness generation after generation for nearly a century.
The story of Ocean-View Sassin Me Back did not begin with her dam, her grandam, or even the famed EX-95 Damion Sassy. It began long before that—with a cow named Steps.
In the pages of Holstein history, Ideograph Burkgov Steps EX-90 earned recognition as one of the foundation females behind what would become one of the most influential maternal lines in the Ocean View breeding program. Her descendants would eventually include Ocean-View Sexation, one of the most influential bulls ever bred at Ocean View, but perhaps her greatest contribution was something even more important: the ability to consistently transmit quality through generation after generation of daughters.
By 1981, the family had already become noteworthy enough to earn the cover of the Holstein World Brood Cow Issue.
The feature centered on Ocean-View Capsule Sharon EX-90, a sixth-generation Excellent descendant of Steps. Sharon was a remarkable cow in her own right, producing over 40,000 pounds of milk and more than 254,000 pounds lifetime. Yet what made Sharon truly special was not simply what she accomplished herself—it was what she represented.
She was proof that the family worked.
The magazine spread highlighted the strength of the Steps family and its ability to create Excellent daughters generation after generation. At the time, nobody could have imagined just how far that story would continue.
Today, more than forty years after Sharon appeared on that magazine cover, the family is still thriving.
The Sharon branch developed through Fond Shama, Sexy Shamma, Simon Sassy, Benefit Sassy, Starlet Sassy, and Zenith Sassy. Each generation added another layer of strength, consistency, and reliability while preserving the traits that had made the family successful for decades.
One of the most remarkable aspects of this family is how tightly it remains connected to its foundation. Through Ocean-View Sexation and his descendants, the pedigree of Sassin Me Back traces back to Steps multiple times. In fact, Steps appears six times within the extended pedigree, creating a level of linebreeding that is rarely seen in modern Holstein pedigrees.
That wasn't an accident.
For generations, Ocean View has believed that when a family consistently works, there is value in preserving and reinforcing those strengths. That philosophy is one reason why Ocean View has often gravitated toward sires carrying Sexation blood when making matings within this family.
The results can be seen throughout the pedigree.
Ocean-View Benefit Sassy was sired by a son of Sexation. Ocean-View Sexy Shamma was a direct daughter of Sexation. More recently, both Diamondback and Master carry Sexation and Steps influence within their pedigrees, making them natural complements to a family already proven to respond to those genetics.
The goal has never been linebreeding for the sake of linebreeding.
The goal has been to preserve the qualities that made the family successful in the first place.
Generation after generation, the family has continued to produce cows with the combination of style, production, longevity, and transmitting ability that breeders strive to create.
The Zenith Sassy generation may best illustrate the strength of the family. Zenith Sassy herself was Excellent-90, but it was her daughters that elevated the family to another level.
Damion Sassy EX-95-3E became one of the most influential females ever bred at Ocean View.
Her sisters also left an extraordinary mark:
Sterling Silver EX-94-2E became a National Elite Performer and Holstein USA Star of the Breed while producing over 219,000 pounds of milk.
Dundee Sassy EX-93-3E surpassed 303,000 pounds lifetime.
Sanchez Sassy EX-94-2E became a state and national fat leader while producing over 248,000 pounds lifetime and more than 11,000 pounds of fat.
Rather than relying on a single great cow, the family produced an entire generation of influential females.
And today the story continues through Ocean-View Shez A Sassy EX-94 daughter of Damion Sassy. Her daughter, Ocean-View Sassin Me Back is a World Dairy Expo Jr Show Junior Champion, Jr All-American & Res All-American, and one of the most exciting young descendants of the family.
When Sassin Me Back was sold in 2024 to a new partnership with Doug Brown of Iowa, she represented far more than a stylish young heifer with show-ring potential. She represented nearly eighty years of breeding decisions, selection pressure, and family performance.
Her pedigree contains fourteen consecutive generations of Excellent and Very Good females averaging 90 points. It traces directly back through Sharon and ultimately to Steps herself.
Every generation contributed something—more production, stronger udders, better feet and legs, greater longevity, higher classification scores, or greater transmitting ability.
That is what makes families like this so rare today.
Most breeders can point to a great cow.
Only a handful can point to a great cow family.
Fewer still can point to a family that has remained relevant through eight decades, multiple breeding eras, changing genetic trends, and countless sire stacks.
From Steps to Sharon.
From Sharon to Zenith Sassy.
From Zenith Sassy to Damion Sassy and her remarkable sisters.
From Diamondback Sassy to Sassin Me Back.
Eighty years later, the family is still doing exactly what it was built to do—making each generation better than the one before.
That is not luck.
That is the art of breeding.