Amber Marshall: Horse Girl

Every day after school, from the time she was 12 until she turned 18, her mother would drop her off at a horse stable near their home in London, Ontario. Amber spent hours there caring for the horses before heading home to do her homework. To her, it was simply where she needed to be.

"I think it was so healthy to have a living creature that needed me," Amber says from her ranch in Alberta. "Animals judge you by what is in your heart. If we could judge each other the same way, we would be a lot better off."

Since 2007, Amber has played Amy Fleming on the hit CBC show Heartland. The family drama has been on the air for over 14 seasons, making it Canada’s longest-running one-hour drama. While it is not a flashy show filled with action and special effects, that is exactly why people love it.

"It's about a real family coming together with real problems and working them out," Amber explains.

Amber's real life is not very different from her character's. She has been riding horses since she was three years old. As a teenager, she cleaned stalls to earn riding time and worked at a veterinary clinic.

Getting the role on Heartland was a bit of a scramble. Amber was working on another project and missed the first two rounds of auditions. On her train ride home, her agent called to say the producers still had not found their lead actress. She needed to send in an audition tape immediately.

At the time, she recorded her audition on a VHS tape and had to find a local company to convert it to a digital file. The internet upload was incredibly slow, but as soon as the producers saw her on screen, they knew she was the right fit.

"From day one, this character was exactly who I wanted to be," Amber says.

On the show, Amy Fleming does not train horses through force—she listens to them. Amber brought that same gentle approach to her new life in Alberta. When she first arrived for filming, she felt an instant connection to the province.

Today, she lives on a working ranch with her husband, Shawn, along with their horses, dogs, cats, chickens, and cows. For a long time, Amber did not even own a television until her husband convinced her to get one. Aside from acting, she runs a quarterly magazine, a personal website featuring Canadian-made products, and connects with her many followers on social media.

Filming during the 2020 pandemic was a challenge. Due to safety protocols, the cast could not share meals, hang out, or hug. Amber admits the season was exhausting because she missed the social side of her job.

However, Amber is used to facing difficult times. As a kid, she had school bullies who mocked her dreams of acting. During those years, she found peace and comfort at the barn with her horses, who did not care about popularity.

Now, she gets letters from fans all over the world sharing how Heartland helped them get through illness, grief, or hard times. She reads and values every one of them.

"I didn't get into acting because I thought I'd have a huge connection with people around the world," she says. "But when you see how the role affects people, it brings a whole new level to the work. I don't take that lightly."

When filming wraps each year, Amber chooses to stay close to home. She likes to sit by the fence on her ranch, watch her animals graze, and simply rest. She loves her job and hopes the show keeps going for a long time. For Amber, playing Amy on Heartland is not just a job—it is a extension of her real life.