2023 Iowa State Fair Butter Cow Companion Sculptures to Feature Jack Trice, Kurt Warner and Caitlin Clark
The iconic Iowa State Fair butter cow will have some very important Iowa athletes to share the cooler with this year. Long time Iowa State Fair butter sculptor Sarah Pratt, along with her apprentices Hannah and Grace, will meticulously sculpt the likenesses of Jack Trice, Kurt Warner and Caitlin Clark.
Jack Trice was Iowa State's first African American athlete and 2023 commemorates his untimely death during a football game in 1923. His life and legacy have been an inspiration and 100-year commemoration programs include "I Will" Action Grants, a University museum exhibition and the creation of Jack Trice Way as a part his namesake stadium on the Iowa State University campus. His likeness in butter will be a testament to his impact on not only Iowa State but on college athletics across the country. The first Iowa State Fair butter cow was sculpted just 12 years before Jack Trice played football and ran track for Iowa State.
Kurt Warner is the only person to be inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Arena Hall of Fame. Warner graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 1993 and was named the Gateway Conference's Offensive Player of the Year. Like many in Iowa, he spent some time working for local grocer Hy-Vee before going to play for the Iowa Barnstormers, the Amsterdam Admirals and then the St. Louis Rams, the New York Giants and the Arizona Cardinals. An impressive resume with 208 passing touchdowns, 4 pro bowls and 12 seasons, Warner's likeness in butter is the perfect testament to his calm, cool and collected demeanor.
Caitlin Clark, University of Iowa women's basketball standout player, has added countless accolades and awards to her points and assists records, but nothing is more iconic of her impact as an Iowan than being recognized with a likeness in butter at the Iowa State Fair. Clark, a senior from West Des Moines, attended Dowling Catholic High School. She is the first player in Division 1 women's basketball history to record more than 1,000 points and 300 assists in the same season. In 2023, Caitlin was named consensus National Player of the Year, Academic All American and Collegiate Female Athlete of the Year.
The butter cow, along with butter versions of Caitlin Clark, Kurt Warner and Jack Trice, will be featured in the John Deere Agriculture Building 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., during the Best Days Ever at the Iowa State Fair, August 10-20, 2023.
In 1911, J.K. Daniels sculpted the Fair's first butter cow, and in 2006, after 15 years of apprenticing under long time sculptor Duffy Lyon, Sarah Pratt of West Des Moines became the Fair's fifth butter sculptor. In addition to her first Butter Cow, Pratt has also crafted countless people, characters and icons in butter. For a listing of previous sculptures, visit https://www.iowastatefair.org/about/butter-cow.