Amber Marshall: Horse Girl

“Animals judge you by what’s on the inside, what’s in your heart,” says Amber Marshall, star of TV’s Heartland.

CBC-TV’s Heartland, set in Alberta’s ranch country, is seen worldwide and by roughly one million Canadians weekly. Its 14th season was shot entirely during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic.

Amber Marshall, who plays series lead Amy Fleming, was exhausted when the 14th season wrapped in late 2020. “I think all of us were,” she recalls. Beyond memorizing scenes and ensuring realism, every scene’s end meant strict protocols: “Mask up now” and “No eating or drinking here.” Regular COVID testing and off-set guidelines were mandatory.

“I love the social aspect of this job,” Marshall says. “Many of us have worked together for 14 years, enjoying morning and goodbye hugs, snacks, and off-time chats. This wasn’t allowed this year.”

Marshall debuted as Amy in 2007. The first episode began with a flash, then a crash: Amy and her mother, Marion, drove at night during a lightning storm, hauling a horse trailer to rescue an abused horse named Spartan. As rain pounded, the truck and trailer lost the road, pitching over a hillside. Waking in the hospital, Amy learned Spartan survived, but her mother did not.

Recovering at her grandfather’s Heartland ranch, Amy discovered her destiny as a gifted horse healer and trainer, talents inherited from her mother. She was supported by her gruff granddad, Jack Bartlett (Shaun Johnston), and her big-city sister, Lou (Michelle Morgan), who returned from New York City. Her estranged father, Tim (Chris Potter), and handsome young Ty Borden (Graham Wardle), a juvenile on probation working as a ranch hand, soon arrived.

Based on the Heartland book series for young people aged eight to 14, the show surpassed Street Legal by 2015 as Canada’s longest-running one-hour TV drama. With vivid characters, plot twists, majestic horses, and picturesque vistas, it continues to enthrall fans. Marshall has played Amy Fleming for over 200 episodes, loving the role from the start. Raised in London, ON, the 32-year-old Marshall instantly connected with her new surroundings.

“Certain places adopt people,” she says. “The minute I set foot in Alberta, I felt at home. It’s interesting—a new place just embraces you, saying, ‘This is where you’re supposed to be.’ I am so fortunate for that.”

Heartland and Marshall proved a perfect fit. She began riding at three, and as a teenager, rode and tended horses, also working as a veterinary clinic assistant. Her other passion was acting. As Amy—with her healthy good looks, determination, and gift with horses—she’s become an icon (one Instagram account has 743,000 followers). “Heartland is not about blood, guts, gore, and action,” Marshall says. “It’s about a real family coming together with real problems and working them out.” The drama strives to be both realistic and uplifting. Marshall speaks of its impact with enthusiasm and pride:

“I didn’t get into acting expecting a huge worldwide connection; that’s not something you think about. But over time, connecting with those affected by your role brings a new level to acting. From worldwide stories and letters, you realize how Heartland has changed lives. I don’t take that lightly. I read how people overcome trauma or illness by watching the show, finding new inspiration and drive. I love that connection.”

The Judgment of Horses

Born June 2, 1988, Marshall seemed destined to be a high-energy achiever. “I’m not a person who can ever sit still,” she says. Her parents were “in sales”: mother Wenda in signage, father David “in the concrete world,” selling pipes and lighting poles.

Her mother worked outside the home until Marshall’s brother, Lee, was born five years later. “I would go to my granny’s house every day, from a young age to six,” Marshall says. “You can never sit my granny down. In her late 80s, she’s still active—always gardening, sewing, busy. It was, ‘We have to be busy; this is what you do.’ I’ve always been that way, which helps with all the things I want to take on.”

Family lore has Marshall play-acting at home very early. She joined London’s Ontario Kids Theatre Company at eight. By 12, she had a Toronto-based talent agent. Her first onscreen credit at 14 was the title role in the TV movie The Elizabeth Smart Story, a fact-based crime drama.

She amassed other credits, but actors face far more auditions than roles. For an actor living in London, auditions presented real obstacles. Fortunately, Marshall had family support.

“When I started, my mom drove me to Toronto—about a three-hour drive. You’re usually in the audition room for only 20 minutes. That road time was a nice, forced trip that allowed us to stay connected.” (Her parents eventually divorced.) By 17, Marshall drove herself to Toronto.

She developed a positive approach to audition rejection: “I’d do my best, then completely forget about it. If I heard back, great; if not, oh well.”

Hoping to earn extra money, she applied for a veterinary clinic assistant job. Thanks to her many auditions, her interview poise was evident. “I was only 14, and they were impressed,” she recalls. “They said, ‘It’s like you’ve done this 100 times.’ I replied, ‘Well, actually, I kind of have.’”

Her clinic boss was encouraging, allowing time off for auditions. At school, however, some mocked her ambition.

“I struggled with bullies. People would say, ‘Oh, you’re on TV…you must be special,’ and made fun of me. This was from ages 11 to 19, maybe. I can’t imagine what it would have been like with social media. Back then, prank calls to the home-phone line were devastating—friends saying rude things or laughing at me. I was crushed.”

Horses might not have saved Marshall’s spirits, but they helped.

“We lived in the city’s north end, a five-minute drive from the country,” she says. “I boarded horses from 12 to 18. My mom would drop me off at the barn; I’d be there for three hours, then get picked up, do homework, and go to bed. I think it was healthy to have a living creature that needed me.”

“Riding can be an expensive hobby, but you can help out—cleaning stalls and the barn—in exchange for lessons. Connecting with an animal can be so important.”

In Heartland, Amy Fleming, who trains and heals traumatized horses, is often called a horse whisperer. “We don’t whisper; we listen,” Marshall says from Alberta. She explains:

“People have thought you must break a horse to ride it—break its spirit, dominate it. My character says, ‘No, you need understanding.’ Each animal is different, needing consistency and commitment. People say animals have no judgment. They do, but it differs from human judgment. Humans judge by what they see; animals judge by what’s inside, what’s in your heart. If we judged others as animals do, we would be much better off.”

Put Something on Tape

While Marshall is, as she’s written on her blog, “living the dream out West,” she’s aware this special role might not have happened:

“Heartland producers didn’t approach me saying, ‘Hey, we want you to be Amy Fleming.’ I went to many auditions before getting that role. I worked hard, memorizing many pages for many shows—a part people don’t see. I got very discouraged. At one point, I told my agent, ‘I don’t know if I can do this anymore. I’m paying so much in fuel for these auditions and getting nothing.’”

The breakthrough came in Ottawa.

“I was filming a pilot for a different show when Heartland auditions were held, so I missed the first and second. On the train back from set, my agent called: ‘There’s this show you’re perfect for; they still haven’t found their lead. It’s this horse girl, and I really think you should get home and put something on tape.’”

She laughs at her efforts. “I only knew how to record on VHS tape. Then I wondered, how do I get this online? A London company converted the VHS to a computer file and sent it. The playback was so slow—you know the ‘spinning wheel of death’? The producer later said it took 30 minutes to load just the first clip. But as soon as they saw me—I said, ‘Hi, I’m Amber Marshall. I have two horses; I love to ride’—they were hooked. They said, ‘We want to see more.’ From day one, this character was exactly who I wanted to be.”

Over the seasons, Marshall has responded to fans by sharing her life—in newsletters, blogs, social media, and her quarterly magazine. YouTube features up-close videos of her storybook wedding and the ranch life she shares with husband Shawn Turner and their beloved animals. Fans can order her personally branded products from ambermarshall.com.

“Hearing you call [her website] an enterprise put a smile on my face,” Marshall admits. “It just happened over time. People asked, ‘Do you have any apparel? Do you have jewelry?’ A sense of love goes into it. I’ve focused on Canadian-made products, local suppliers, and manufacturers. It’s challenging to make money, but that’s not why I’m doing this.”

Returning to her ranch, the energetic actor has plenty of chores, but she’s learned to change gears.

“Every year after Heartland finishes, my agent asks, ‘Can I put you up for this, or that?’ And I reply, ‘Let’s just take a deep breath. I’m just taking in fresh air.’ Out my back door, I’ve got my horses, cows, dogs, cats, and chickens; this is what I want to be doing right now. I can sit on a fence, watch the animals graze, and just relax or unwind. I find my inspiration from the world around me.”

Home life is good. Turner, also from Ontario, is a skilled photographer who freelances as a heavy-equipment operator. Marriage changed Marshall—but only slightly: “You know, it’s funny, and I hate saying this, but I’d never even owned a television until my husband moved in and said, ‘We need a TV.’”

She’s a different kind of TV star. It’s hard not to root for Marshall, the Heartland cast, and the production team. Over the phone, her positivity is unmistakable. A realist, she observes, “I don’t think this lifestyle is for everyone. Some Heartland actors…this isn’t their dream life. We’ve seen that over the years. They don’t want to be in Alberta for five or six months a year; they want to be in downtown Vancouver or Toronto doing projects that excite them.”

“I can’t fault anyone for wanting to do something else more. This project really excites me. I hope Heartland continues for a long time. I still love it every day.”