By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

HAMILTON, Ohio — She likes 4-H a lot and would recommend it to anybody, said Karen Hiltbrand, who at age 14 won Showman of Showmen in beef cattle at the 2010 Butler County Fair. She also won Reserve in the Horse Division.

“I like the people,” said Hiltbrand, who was practicing showing pigs to get ready for the evening’s competition. “You meet a lot of new people. You are presented with lots of connections for your future life. You learn leadership skills.”

Hiltbrand shows her crossbred steer and heifer in a winter show circuit with the Ohio Cattlemen’s Assoc.

“It takes a lot of dedication, a lot of work,” she said. “I get up in the morning around 6 or 6:30. And I’m outside usually until 10 or so, and then I go out at night again from about 7 until 10. So I washed in the cold, I walked in the cold. I washed in the rain and snow.”

Hiltbrand is a member of the Wayne Livestock Unlimited 4-H Club. Her advisors are Kathy Hiltbrand and Cari Gerber. 4-H has gotten more intense since she began.

“People who are in it, they want to win,” she said. “Maybe there are fewer people than there used to be, but the people who are in it – they know what they’re doing. There are fewer people, but tougher competition.”

Hiltbrand has shown pigs, a steer, a heifer and a horse while in 4-H. She was looking forward to the Showman of Showmen competition.

“I would be ecstatic (to win),” she said, beforehand. “I am only 14. This is the first year I’m old enough to take part. That is one of my biggest goals. If I don’t win, I will try again.”