Heartland: how the wholesome Canadian horse show made me take life by the reins

If you lived in Australia in the late 90s or early 2000s, you maybe saw The Saddle Club, a TV show from the books by US writer Bonnie Bryant. The show was oddly shot in Australia and made me really like horses when I was young.

Move ahead ten years and some, and a different horsey TV show brought back this love. CBC’s Heartland, which started in 2007 and now has 17 seasons, is a well-liked family story from Canada, based on the books by Lauren Brooke. It focuses on Amy Fleming (Amber Marshall), a young girl living in Alberta who walks in her mother’s steps as a horse talker.

Amy wo͏rk with distressed horse, relying on͏ ͏her instinct to help th͏em recover. Occasionally unexpected situation͏ arise but for͏ the mos͏t part it all about enjoyable f͏ami͏ly moment wi͏th horses.

͏If t͏hi͏s seems overly sentimen͏tal it is but Hear͏tlan͏d is also comforting. I give credit to my current lifesty͏le to the sh͏ow. In 2͏016 after watching it on Netflix I switched f͏rom a casual horse rider restar͏ting lessons to some͏one wh͏o deeply i͏nvolve͏d in the͏ worl͏d of horses. Now I care for three horses dai͏ly an͏d take part in various equestrian com͏petitions de͏spite financial cons͏traints.

The appe͏al of Heartland led me to consider invest my time and money in horses perhaps because of the captivating cinematography show the s͏cenic be͏auty of Alberta moun͏tain͏s. The setting f͏eature Hear͏tlan͏d r͏anc͏h a vast property surroun͏ded by ͏forests͏ and waterways.

Watching Amy “join up” in the round pen with a troubled horse, her cowboy hat in place, spoke to my own latent desire to escape the hustle and bustle of full-time city office work and immerse myself in nature.

Or it may have been the romantic depiction of the horse-human bond. Amy’s personal horse, Spartan, is a rescue who she saves with her mother before her mother’s fatal car accident. Amy deals with her grief by bonding with Spartan, turning him from a wild, dangerous, abused animal into a champion showjumper. The plotline may be dubious (I’ve seen many a troubled horse rehabbed and they rarely go on to successful competitive careers), but I still yearned for the bond the pair shared.

When I started watching Heartland I was taking lessons at a riding school. But when I bought my first horse, she was a handful and a half, and part of my perseverance through the falls, broken bones and knocks to my confidence was a result of channelling Amy Fleming.

Watching Amy “join up” in the round pen with a troubled horse, her cowboy hat in place, spoke to my own latent desire to escape the hustle and bustle of full-time city office work and immerse myself in nature.

Or it may have been the romantic depiction of the horse-human bond. Amy’s personal horse, Spartan, is a rescue who she saves with her mother before her mother’s fatal car accident. Amy deals with her grief by bonding with Spartan, turning him from a wild, dangerous, abused animal into a champion showjumper. The plotline may be dubious (I’ve seen many a troubled horse rehabbed and they rarely go on to successful competitive careers), but I still yearned for the bond the pair shared.

When I started watching Heartland I was taking lessons at a riding school. But when I bought my first horse, she was a handful and a half, and part of my perseverance through the falls, broken bones and knocks to my confidence was a result of channelling Amy Fleming.

I bought my second horse when she was a six-month-old filly. She was wary of strangers and, due to a fear of being touched on the face, it took me three months to get a halter on her. Once again, I asked myself WWAD (what would Amy do?) and educated myself in natural horsemanship techniques to introduce the filly to being touched all over her face and ears. She’s now almost three, about to start being worked under saddle and adores face pats.

And when my third horse suffered a mystery illness and I was uncertain over whether he was going to live, I rewatched episodes of Heartland where Spartan is in hospital and Amy has to decide whether to pursue surgery or let him be euthanised. My guy pulled through and we now have a diagnosis and a treatment plan. Amy’s relatable struggles helped me through the stress of it all.

Even if you’re not horsey, there’s a lot to love about a family drama that is super PG, has an array of sweet characters and features slow shots panning over sun-kissed fields. Do yourself a favour and give it a stream – but don’t complain to me if you end up Googling “horse riding for beginners”. I have warned you.