Cindy Busby and the Heartland Role Fans Never Forgot

Cindy Busby hasn’t been a regular on Heartland for years, but that doesn’t really matter. People still call her Ashley. Airports, random sets, comment sections whenever an old clip pops up again. That role just stuck.

She wasn’t even a rider before the show. The funny part is, she didn’t have to be. But once Heartland got picked up, she signed up for lessons anyway. Not to become some expert—just so she wouldn’t look out of place next to a horse. Which honestly makes sense. Horses are beautiful, but they’re also massive. You don’t fake comfort around them.

She’s always quick to give credit to the wranglers too, and that tells you a lot. Those are the people who keep everything calm and safe while everyone else pretends it’s effortless. You can see it on screen—the horses aren’t tense, the scenes feel natural. That doesn’t happen by accident.

Streaming gave the show another life, and that’s why Ashley keeps following her around. One of the best stories came from a canceled flight in Dallas. Long delay, bad mood, probably just wanting to get home. And then someone recognizes her from Heartland. Quick photo. Mood changed. That’s how it goes sometimes.

That Ashley and Caleb trailer everyone remembers? Total weather curse. The crew called the area “the Vortex” for a reason. If the forecast looked fine, it rained. If it looked bad, it got worse. Wind, hail, snow—everything hit that spot. Eventually production rebuilt the interior on stage so nobody had to fight a storm just to finish a scene.

Ashley started out with that “mean girl” edge, and Cindy never denied it. But it wasn’t random. Ashley came from money, control, and pressure, and being sharp was easier than being honest. Over time, you could see her change. She grows up. She softens. On set, the switch was instant—icy in character, laughing the second someone yelled cut. It became a running joke.

She’s done plenty since then, including a short run on Supernatural. By all accounts, that set runs like a machine, but without the tension. Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles set the tone, and people feel it. No pranks for her—apparently that’s a thing—but the welcome was real.

These days she calls herself a city person who likes the country on weekends. She’s not riding all the time anymore, but she hasn’t closed that door either. New projects are in motion. Some she can’t talk about yet, some she’ll share when the time’s right.

But no matter what else she does, people still ask about Ashley. That’s not nostalgia. That’s just what happens when a character feels real enough to stick.