Ohio cattlemen’s first female president from New Carlisle

The first female president of the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association didn’t grow up with a background in farming and she didn’t marry into the industry.

Sasha Rittenhouse, who was named as president of the association in December last year, said it’s still tough to explain exactly why she loves the cattle industry so much. But she knew she was hooked after a couple of her cousins living near Hillsboro let her show their cows at a local fair. As she became more and more involved in raising cattle, she said she evolved from a shy, quiet teen to an outspoken advocate for her industry.

“I love them because of what they did for me at a crucial point in my life,” she said of the animals she’s raised for years. “Cattle just kept me so focused and driven.”

The Ohio Cattlemen’s Association is a nonprofit membership organization based in Marysville that represents the business interests of families that raise cattle to state lawmakers and other entities.

Rittenhouse, of New Carlisle, said her family made its living in the grocery industry. Her father Howard Dodds started in that business as a teenager. He retired after expanding that business into a chain of about 10 Howard’s IGA and Save A Lot grocery stores from Fairborn to St. Paris.

“I saw my dad working sometimes 24 hours a day,” Rittenhouse said. “I saw literally blood, sweat and tears being poured into that business.” When her parents saw she was enthusiastic about her cousin’s cattle, they bought her a couple of cattle of her own to raise. From then on, she was hooked.