DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / November 8, 2000

PAULINA – Not many people can say their cow won them a $2,000 scholarship, with four years of interest, to any college of their choice.

However, if you happen to be the owner of a state reserve champion Limousin Heifer named Roxanne, like St. Charles Catholic sophomore KateKliebert happens to be, then the above would be true.

So how do you win $2,000 worth of college money with a cow? Well Roxanne, the winning heifer, was bought from Express Limousin Ranch in Oklahoma.

Express has a great program where if any cow they have sold wins a grand champion or reserve award, then they will establish a trust fund for the student showing the cow. In a parish show Express will give $500 for a grandchampion and $250 for a reserve. At the state level $3,000 for a grandchampion will be given and $2,000 for a reserve.

Kate took her heifer, Roxanne, to the state fair competition in Shreveport this year. Roxanne won reserve champion, Kliebert’s bull Mr. Misposelles wongrand champion male and Kliebert was selected as the champion showman in the senior division.

The scholarship can be won more than once, so Kliebert has the opportunity to win $3,000 at each state competition she enters.

Kliebert, daughter of Tommy and Mary Kliebert, has been showing cows since fourth grade with the Chanel Interparochial 4-H program. Her dad always hadraised cows, she said, and “he asked if I wanted to show them.” Now she’sbeen to the state 4-H competition at LSU six years and to the state fair three years.

“This year was really good,” said Kate.

Kliebert trains her cows for each competition on a regular basis. She feedsthem special diets to maintain their look, walks them regularly and practices setting their feet right. Kliebert teaches them to stand with their legssquarely beneath them, proper posturing being the key to any beauty contest.

What makes this story so interesting is the fact that this is just part of the achievements of Kate Kliebert.

Kliebert is also the state president of the Louisiana Junior Limousin Association, for which she writes and puts out the newsletters. At St.Charles Catholic she is also a member of the swim team the tennis team and the Beta, French and drama clubs. All this is topped off by her 4.0 gradepoint average.

On Thursday Kliebert and her heifer Dot are off to Louisville, Ky., as theLouisiana representative at the North American International Livestock Exposition. All expenses are paid for by the Louisiana Cooperative ExtensionService. There are also three 4-H shows in February Kliebert will be attendingwith her cows as well.

Being involved in so much, Helena Cupit, St. Charles Catholic director ofdevelopment, advises Kliebert to start on her resume now so she won’t forget anything later.

All Kliebert’s classes are honors courses, which are the most rigorous in the curriculum at St. Charles. “She very disciplined and hard working, and she has tremendous potential to win national scholarships,” said Cupit.

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