Amber Marshall: Horse Girl Who Found Her Way Home on Heartland

"Animals don’t judge you by what you wear or how you look,” Amber Marshall says. “They judge you by your heart.”

For over 15 years, Amber Marshall has quietly held one of the most beloved roles on Canadian television. As Amy Fleming on Heartland, she’s trained wild horses, weathered family heartbreak, and helped keep the long-running CBC series grounded in something rare: gentle resilience.

But while the show has earned millions of fans from Alberta to Australia, it’s Amber’s off-screen life that completes the story. She’s not just playing a horse girl—she is one. For a deeper look at how Amy Fleming has grown through the seasons, explore her character journey here.

A Lightning Storm and a Crash that changed everything

Marshall’s first appearance in Heartland was anything but soft. The pilot episode opens with a terrifying rescue attempt—Amy and her mother, Marion, trying to save a badly abused horse named Spartan during a thunderstorm. The truck crashes. Amy wakes up in the hospital. Her mother didn’t make it. Spartan did.

That loss sets the stage for everything that follows. Amy's journey of healing—her own and the horses’—unfolds against a backdrop of mountains, family drama, and the kind of quiet emotional stakes that have become the show's signature.

"I knew I was home" - The Role She Was Born to Play

Amber grew up in London, Ontario, riding horses and helping out at a local veterinary clinic. By 12, she had a talent agent. At 14, she was cast as Elizabeth Smart in a made-for-TV movie. But it wasn’t until her late teens, after hundreds of miles driven to auditions (and plenty of rejection), that she landed the role of a lifetime.

She almost missed it.

“I was filming another show and missed the Heartland auditions,” she remembers. “But my agent called and said, ‘You need to put something on tape.’ I only had VHS. It was grainy and slow to load. But once they saw it, they wanted more.”

It was a perfect fit. She already owned horses. She already knew the life. And she was exactly what the producers had been searching for: real, unaffected, and horse-smart. What followed was years of emotional storytelling, especially in Amy’s relationship with Ty Borden—a fan-favorite couple that still touches hearts today.

Why horses understand more than we think

Off-screen, Marshall’s life isn’t all that different from Amy Fleming’s. She lives on a ranch outside Calgary with her husband, Shawn Turner, and a menagerie of animals—horses, cows, dogs, chickens.

“When I’m home, I don’t want to act. I just want to sit on a fence and watch my animals graze.”

She’s also built a quiet empire: a lifestyle magazine, merchandise line, and an ever-growing online presence rooted in community and connection, not celebrity.

“People started asking, ‘Do you sell apparel? Jewelry?’ It grew naturally. But I’ve stayed local—Canadian-made, small batch. It’s about heart, not profit.”

“We Don’t Whisper. We Listen.”

Her character is often called a “horse whisperer.” Marshall disagrees with the term.

“You don’t whisper at horses. You listen. You earn their trust. Every horse is different, just like people.”

The show’s emotional reach has surprised her.

“I’ve heard from fans going through cancer treatment, grief, trauma—they say the show helped them through. That’s not something I ever expected when I started acting.”

Bullies, Barns, and Becoming

Marshall’s teen years weren’t easy. She was bullied for being on TV. She was mocked, prank-called, made to feel like an outsider. But the barn was always waiting.

“I’d be at the barn for three hours after school. It grounded me. Animals needed me. And I needed them.”

She knows not every kid has access to riding lessons—but she also knows that a connection with animals can be life-changing.

“You can muck stalls in exchange for lessons. You can help at a barn. Horses have a way of keeping you steady.”

Not Everyone Stays

Heartland has been on air for more than 15 seasons. Cast members have come and gone. Ty Borden’s death (played by Graham Wardle) shocked fans. Others, Marshall acknowledges, chose a different path.

“Some actors don’t want this life—months in Alberta, away from the city. I get it. But for me? This is the dream.”

"I still love it every day"
She’s not interested in red carpets or action roles. She’s never chased celebrity. In fact, she never owned a television until her husband moved in and insisted.

“I don’t need a flashy career. I’ve already got the one I wanted.”

And for millions of fans around the world, Amber Marshall isn’t just Amy Fleming.
She is Heartland.