Some people mark time by the places they’ve lived, by the vehicles they’ve driven. Kimberly Cotter, a sophomore at Seminole State College, marks time by the horses she’s owned. 

“When I was three, my parents went to a miniature horse sale for fun — just something to do as a family. Well, they ended up buying some,” Cotter said, “so I started showing miniature horses at the age of three.”

At the age of seven, she wrote an essay and won a Shetland pony. 

“The minis were boring from that point on,” she joked. 

She showed both Shetlands and miniatures. She joined McLoud’s 4-H club at age nine and started showing goats. When she started attending Dale High School, she joined FFA and started showing lambs alongside the goats. Cotter’s passion for animals and riding horses in particular continued to grow.  

She was, and still is, a confident horse rider. She wanted to try her hand at barrel racing in high school. After practicing and honing her skills as a barrel racer, she and her parents went to a sale and picked out a trained, or patterned, barrel horse. She named the mare Cali, and the two have been inseparable ever since. 

She competed in the International Youth Finals Rodeo each year of high school. She’s won numerous local, national and international awards, including two Pinto World Champion titles.  

During her senior year of high school, she began applying to colleges with strong agricultural programs, including Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University and SSC.  

But just before her high school graduation, her grandmother suffered a stroke. Her grandmother was her neighbor, had watched over her as she grew up on her parent’s farm in Shawnee. Cotter decided she would attend college close to home, so she could care for her grandmother. 

While a freshman studying agriculture at SSC, she was also her grandmother’s full-time caretaker with help from her family. She never considered the situation to be a hindrance to her goals. 

“I didn’t see it as an obstacle. It was an amazing opportunity. She took care of me when I was little and now I could take care of her and spend time with her. I spent every night there. It was a blessing,” Cotter said. 

Following the stroke, her grandmother could not speak or walk. 

“I knew her so well. I knew what she was trying to convey without communication,” Cotter said. She cherishes the time with her grandmother before she passed away. 

Despite the emotional toll her grandmother’s passing took on her, Cotter continued chasing her rodeo dreams. SSC does not have a college rodeo team, but Assistant Professor of Agriculture Wendy Rich did not want that to hamper Cotter’s goals. 

“Professor Rich said to me, ‘You know you could do that as an independent, right?’ So I started competing,” Cotter said. 

She has competed in five college rodeo events since she went independent. She wears an SSC patch on her vest as she barrel races. 

“I’m so glad I chose SSC,” Cotter said. “I’m getting to do all the things I want. If you voice what you want to accomplish here, people will help you find a way to make it happen.” 

Her accomplishments are not limited to the rodeo arena. She served on SSC’s first livestock judging team, she is an Ag ambassador, she’s a member of the Aggie Club on campus, as well as a member in three honor societies: Phi Theta Kappa, Sigma Kappa Delta and Nu Alpha Theta. 

She shared her experiences at SSC with the College’s Board of Regents in the fall of 2019. President Lana Reynolds was so moved by her story that she asked Cotter to represent the College at Higher Ed Day at the State Capitol. Cotter was one of three students who addressed state leaders about the value of higher education.  

When she graduates from SSC in the spring, she intends to transfer to OSU and enroll in their animal science/pre-veterinary program. She hopes to become the fifth member of her family to complete the veterinary program in Stillwater, joining her mother, aunt and two cousins.  

“I’ve been given so many opportunities at this college,” Cotter said. “Somewhere else, I would have been a number. Here, I’ve been able to be a part of so much.”