Heartland is currently in its 19th season.
Having a husband who is an equine vet inspired children’s author Linda Chapman to write about restoring damaged horses back to health. It became not only a best-selling book series, but the long-running TV phenomenon, Heartland.
‘HEARTLAND’ – Canadian TV series
Debuted in 2007 and new episodes continue to be filmed
Uplifting, heartwarming and family friendly – everything a Tarantino picture is not. There are no zombies, serial killers or psychopaths running naked through a dystopian wilderness – this is wholesome television with nice people and lots of horses – a saddle soap opera that’s been running for almost 20 years.
Episodes are adapted from Lauren Brooke’s 25-book Heartland series, based in Canada. Lauren Brooke is the pen name of British children’s author, Linda Chapman, who’s based in Leicestershire with her equine veterinarian husband.
Heartland follows the Fleming-Bartlett family as they navigate the challenges of running an equestrian property dedicated to healing abused, neglected or problem horses.
“Having those books as an introduction was a terrific bonus,” says showrunner and writer Heather Conkie. “Not only did we already have a loyal following of readers before we even went to air, but it gave us inspiration for our story ideas, especially in our first season – but we made some changes.
“Most importantly, we transplanted the original setting from Virginia to Southern Alberta. That gave us a true Canadian feel and a much bigger equestrian world to draw upon – not only showjumping but rodeo, trick riding, polo, cross country – we’ve done it all and more.”
Set against the backdrop of the Alberta Rockies, the show follows the Fleming-Bartlett family as they navigate the challenges of running an equestrian property dedicated to healing abused, neglected or problem horses.
A series poster for Heartland.
“I blame the show for
taking me from an adult
amateur rider… through to
the insanity of my life today.”
The lead character, Amy Fleming, is played by Canadian Amber Marshall, a former veterinary nurse and juvenile actor. She had to learn western riding for the series as prior to being cast she had only ridden the English way.
Countless horses appear in this long-running saga. Many have names and belong to the main characters, while others appear as occasional extras. Some of the earlier actors have moved on and new individuals have been introduced to the story. Three who have been there from the beginning are Marshall, Michelle Morgan (Lou Fleming) and Shaun Johnston (Jack Bartlett).
“I blame the show for taking me from an adult amateur rider who’d just resumed taking lessons in 2016 when I first streamed the show on Netflix, through to the insanity of my life today,” Australian writer and equestrian Zoya Patel confessed in a feature she wrote for The Guardian in 2024. “I now own three horses, compete in eventing, showjumping and dressage and haven’t a lot of money in my bank account.”
The lead character, Amy Fleming, is played by Canadian Amber Marshall.
TRIVIA: Amber Marshall has her own country store which will shortly transition to an online-only model. Because she advocates for crash hats she has her own range of cowboy hat-shaped helmets.
Needless to say, a long-running production like Heartland has provided heaps of work to stunt riders, horse trainers, wranglers and livestock contractors.
John Scott worked on the series when it began. (He was mentioned in an article about Billy the Kid, in the December 2025 edition of Equestrian Life). In October last year he was awarded the Alberta Order of Excellence in recognition of his career wrangling animals, working as a stuntman, scouting locations and providing livestock for Hollywood and Canadian movie sets, as well as advocating for Alberta’s motion picture industry.
About 160 of his horses were used exclusively on Heartland, which included bombproof ones for actors and specifically trained ones specialising in bucking, rearing and falling. (His grandson Jake Church is a regular on the series).
Amy (Amber Marshall) and Nathan (Spencer Lord) in Season 19. Image by CBC Photographer David Brown.
Scott was reported as saying it was a tough picture to work on because of the “adverse training”. “We train horses to load on trailers, but in a Heartland script someone brings a horse to Amy that won’t load, so we have to take a good horse and get someone in the trailer with an umbrella, or an air hose at the base of the trailer, to spook the horse away. You mess it up doing that and I don’t like it.”
Twelve years ago, he sold off 30 horses that had been used in the production. Storylines had changed since the early years, which was a major reason for the sale. “I was holding roughly 50 head just because there was such a variation to the plots, but now they’re starting to write more about English horses and high-powered jumpers, which I don’t have.”
DAN JAMES & DAUGHTER PLAY THEIR PART
In recent years Australian Dan James has been collaborating in the production by providing liberty work, stunt doubling and training.
Dan James of Double Dan Horsemanship with a team of liberty horses. Image courtesy of Double Dan Horsemanship.
When Equestrian Life spoke to him, he was on his way to the Heartland location with some of his horses. “These will be for season 21 where they’ll do speciality stuff,” he explains. “And my daughter, Isabella, who’s nine, is doing a scene as a stunt double for Lyndy Borden who plays both of the Spencer twins in the show. “She’ll be working with a little black pony teaching it to rear.”
Dan’s ‘Swampy’ has also worked on the series. Well known for performing bareback and bridleless high-level dressage work, the grey has amassed his own group of fans. For Heartland he was painted chestnut to play a liberty horse charging at the camera.
Dan James’ horse Swampy was painted chestnut for his role in Heartland. Image supplied.
Dan James, who is one half of Double Dan Horsemanship, is based in Midway, Kentucky, at the Australian Equine Performance Center which he runs with his wife, Elizabeth. He has won international events, prestigious awards and is a leading exponent in liberty training.
According to Tripadvisor: “Dan and Elizabeth offer a one-of-a-kind blend of world-class horsemanship and authentic hospitality. Visitors can enjoy family-friendly farm tours, immersive clinics, and unforgettable demonstrations that showcase the powerful bond between horse and human. From fashion shoots to freestyle arenas, come and see why Double Dan Horsemanship is one of the most talked-about destinations in horse country.”
Born on a cattle station, this Queenslander’s first rides were on a milking goat. How well he has progressed! He’s an exceptional horseman.
In season 5 of Heartland, the leading actress is seen doing some liberty work with horses provided by Niki Flundra. A former trick rider from Alberta, she performs at rodeos, trains horses, is a stuntwoman and a licensed pyrotechnician. Niki’s husband, Dustin, is a saddle bronc champion and their three sons are named Ridge, Shade and Kace – who no doubt will grow up to be cowboys!
More liberty work was shown in season 15 featuring some of Dan James’ horses.
TRIVIA: The Liberty Horse Festival was founded by Dan James. At the 2024 festival, James and Amber Marshall worked some liberty horses in front of crowds at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Over the evolution of the series, other techniques on getting horses to play their parts have varied. “They were really laying it on heavy in the first few episodes with T-Touch, ‘joining up’ and using valerian extract in horses’ feeds,” noted Amanda Ronan in Horse Nation. “But as the show caught its stride, they keyed it down a bit and it felt more natural when Amy ‘healed’ a horse. By the end of season one and well through season two it became more about Amy healing relationships between the horse and its owner, rather than using flower extracts, etc.”
Long-running equine cast members, clockwise from top left: Spartan, Phoenix, Sugarfoot, Copper, and Chaplin. Images supplied.
SOME OF THE SHOW’S 4-LEGGED VETERANS
Spartan is Fleming’s main horse, real name Stormy. A black Quarter Horse gelding, he was only five when he was cast. He has four doubles. As he’s aged, he’s become somewhat arthritic, prompting production to hire more doubles for him so his scenes are less physically demanding.
Phoenix is a grey gelding ridden by Alisha Newton who plays Georgie. When seen in the barn and during riding sequences he is a Quarter Horse named Jag and is another horse named Ghost when jumping.
Copper is a laid-back chestnut gelding, real name Midget.
Buddy, real name Bullseye, is a trained western horse.
Sugarfoot, a cream miniature, real name Little Chief, loves sweets and helps horses overcome their fears.
Chaplin is trick riding palomino gelding.
‘Stuffies’ are the artificial horse props.
Not to be confused with the American TV series Heartland, which was aired in 2007 about heart transplant surgery; it died after nine episodes. Nor the Australian drama which ran for 13 episodes on ABC TV in 1994. (It, by the way, was the first major television series to be written by Indigenous Australians and featured Ernie Dingo and Cate Blanchett making her first appearance on film.)
All the Heartland seasons can be viewed on Netflix and various other streaming services. EQ
Next Horses & Movies, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’, 1969, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford and directed by George Roy Hill.
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