'This is home for me': Amber Marshall reflects as 20th season of Heartland set to begin

For nearly 20 years, Amber Marshall has lived, in some ways, the life of Amy Fleming.

She was 19 when she began playing the horse-loving teenager at the centre of Heartland, the CBC drama about a family ranch in the Alberta Foothills.

Marshall has been riding since she was five, got her first horse at 10 and had long imagined a future surrounded by animals.

A young Amber Marshall learns how to ride a horse. (Submitted by Amber Marshall)"I knew that that's who I wanted to be when I grew up," Marshall, now 38, told CBC's Ian Hanomansing in a new interview. "I wanted to be Amy Fleming."

Nearly two decades later, the distinction between actor and character has become unusually difficult to draw.

Marshall, who is from London, Ont., lives on a ranch of her own. She is surrounded by horses and cows, fosters dogs and has made Alberta her home. She moved there during Heartland’s second season.

"I can never see myself relocating again. This is home for me," she said.

Heartland, which begins its 20th season on Sunday, is the longest-running scripted drama in Canadian television history.

Based on the books by Lauren Brooke, it began airing in 2007 and has grown from a Canadian family series into an international phenomenon — with viewers in countries ranging from England and France to Australia and the United States.

Marshall rides a horse during the filming of Heartland's 20th season, which begins Sunday. (David Brown/CBC/Seven 24/Dynamo)The series follows Amy and her family as they work to keep their ranch operating while navigating growing up, relationships, grief and financial pressures.

Amy has married, become a mother and been widowed following the sudden death of her husband, Ty Borden (Graham Wardle). Her sister, Lou (Michelle Morgan), has built a career and raised a family, while their grandfather Jack (Shaun Johnston) has remained the family patriarch.

The characters have aged and changed, allowing viewers to grow up with them.

Marshall has met fans who were babies when the show began and have followed it through childhood and adolescence.

Some have told her that Heartland helped them through difficult periods in their lives.

"It’s special to know that a show can resonate with someone who's never been to Canada, that's never been to Alberta," she said, "and they can watch it and feel a connection to those characters and to that Heartland family."

That connection was on display at a fan event in Alberta on Aug. 11, when viewers travelled from all over the globe.

Sarah Metcalf and her daughter, Riva, came from Manchester, England. Riva first encountered Heartland through a schoolbook when she was nine, then began watching the series after relatives in Canada sent the family DVDs.

"We watched one episode and it would leave on a cliffhanger, and then you'd have to watch the next one," Sarah said. "It’s a very special series, and we're very lucky that we came across it.... It’s a special part of us."

Leanne and Ayla Gale travelled from Brisbane, Australia. Ayla says the show’s performances and cinematography inspired her own interest in film, while her mother, Leanne, was drawn to the Alberta scenery. "I love Canada. I love the Rockies, the scenery, the mountains, pine trees, ranches,” Leanne said.

Heartland is filmed in the scenic Foothills of southern Alberta. (David Brown/CBC/Seven 24/Dynamo)Marshall agrees that the landscape is central to the show. "The Heartland vista has become a character of its own," she said.

Fans often ask whether the Foothills are real or the product of green-screen effects. Marshall said they are and that the scenery has inspired some viewers to visit Alberta.

"It’s just a beautiful part of Canada," she said. "People want to feel and experience what they see on TV, and I don’t think they’re disappointed."

Marshall said visitors can experience the region’s western lifestyle, nature and "calming presence," becoming fully immersed in the Alberta Foothills.

She told Hanomansing that Alberta’s slower pace has taught her to resist the constant rush she notices when she returns to Ontario.

"I love being able to walk out in the field, say, 'You know what, I probably should be doing something else, but I'm just going to really enjoy this nice day,'" Marshall said.

That calm has shaped the Heartland set, where horses are central to the production. Marshall said their unpredictability keeps the series realistic and forces the actors to remain present.

"Horses are just living in the moment," she said. "They don't read the script, they don't know what's going on.”

Horses are shown on the set of Heartland. (David Brown/CBC/Seven 24/Dynamo)The animals also require a quiet, relaxed workplace.

"You cannot have a tense set with animals and expect them to perform,” she said. "We have to be quiet. We have to be relaxed. We have to be calm."

Marshall's commitment to animals began long before Heartland. As a child, she wanted to become a veterinarian and volunteered at an animal shelter from the age of 10. She now runs the Foothills Animal Support Society, which helps animals and their families who might need access to veterinary care.

She has also spoken out against opening protected areas of the Rocky Mountains to coal mining, saying she has seen the damage caused to landscapes, water sources and animals.

"I do believe that we have a moral obligation to protect this beautiful place," she said.

Marshall said she believes Heartland endures because it offers something increasingly rare: wholesome, intergenerational television that leaves viewers feeling better instead of more anxious.

"It makes you feel very complete,” she said. "It makes you feel settled. It makes you feel like you've done something right for your mind and body."

Marshall, shown in Calgary, says she wants to do Heartland for many more years to come. (Turgut Yeter/CBC)She said the show is not confined to a particular era or stage of life. Its characters can continue to grow as new people arrive, others leave and families change.

As for how many seasons remain, her answer was immediate: "Oh gosh, another 20."

"I’ll do Heartland till I die," she said. "This is my life. I love being in Western Canada. I love being on a ranch. I love being surrounded by my animals."

Christine Pagulayan is a Toronto-based producer and writer with CBC News, currently with the Entertainment unit. She has worked in various roles at CBC News Network and The National. She has also worked as a multiplatform reporter in Toronto, Winnipeg, Halifax and Moncton. You can reach her at christine.pagulayan@cbc.ca.