Hundreds of people gathered outside Pioneer Hall at the Iowa State Fair for the annual cow chip throwing contest.
After it was canceled in 2024 due to weather, the classic State Fair event made its return Wednesday, Aug. 13 — and dozens of participants across the men’s, women’s and children’s divisions eagerly signed up.
The objective? To hurl a dried piece of cattle dung as far as possible down 100-foot hill. Competitors who didn’t mind getting their hands on some cow poop had one chance to make their throw, and their score was determined by where the chip landed.
Soft folk music from inside Pioneer Hall served as the soundtrack for the contest that was happening outside, with some people warming up their arms with a couple of practice throws or scouting out the best size for a cow chip.
The throwing of the cow chips started with the celebrity division, consisting of anchors from local TV news and radio stations and personalities from around the State Fair. KCCI reporter Beau Bowman was the winner for this division, with a throw of over 93 feet. As a prize, he was presented with a trophy in the form of a golden cow chip.
Grace Shemanski was one of nearly 60 contestants in the women’s division. Shemanski, 27, didn’t crack the top 10 with her throw of 51 feet, but the Keota native still got a yellow participation ribbon, just as the other participants.
She said her family stays at the campgrounds for every fair, and competing in the cow chip throwing contest has become a tradition every time they visit.
“I’m just glad I didn’t fall on my face trying to huck (the cow chip,)” she joked. “I think I used all of my strength in that throw.”
Oskaloosa native Rhyienne Fowler also competed in the women’s contest, throwing a modestly sized cow chip 33 feet. Choosing to throw the chip in a frisbee motion, she said if she had a second shot, she would go for an overhead throw.
“For my first chip throwing contest, I think it went pretty well,” Fowler, 25, said. “To be honest, I think the atmosphere and the crowd made me a little nervous, but my boyfriend’s family were all taking part in it, so that made me relax a bit.”
In the kids’ division, which was for boys and girls ages 17 and younger, 14-year-old Cooper Kirby was turning heads when he tossed his cow chip 110 yards — which would have been good enough for the No. 1 spot in the men’s division.
“I throw discus, so I found the closest one shaped like a discus and went for it,” said Kirby of Pella. “It was an alright (throw), I could have done better.”
Even though they were in separate divisions, siblings Jacob and Sophie Davis of Norwalk competed against each other for bragging rights in the family. Jacob won amongst the two with a throw of 92 feet, which was good enough for sixth place in the men’s division.
In her defense, Sophie, 17, said she was accustomed to throwing a discus as a member of her high school track team and stated that if she had thrown it like that instead of underhand, she would have performed better.
“(Sophie’s) throw went out of bounds,” said Jacob, 20, laughing. “I had to make up for her out of respect for our last name.”
Here were the top 10 contestants for the men’s, women’s and children’s divisions
Men’s
Women’s
Children’s
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Cow chip contest returns to the Iowa State Fair, with hundreds of brave souls tossing poop
Reporting by Cooper Worth, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
