If you grew up in Australia in the late 90s/early 00s, you probably watched The Saddle Club, a TV series based on the books by the US author Bonnie Bryant. The show was weirdly filmed in Australia and was the direct cause of my youthful obsession with horses.
Skip forward a decade and a bit, and another horsey TV series sparked the rekindling of this obsession. CBC’s Heartland, which launched in 2007 and is now 17 seasons in, is a much-loved family soap out of Canada, based on the books by Lauren Brooke. It centres on Amy Fleming (Amber Marshall), a teenager living in Alberta who follows in the footsteps of her mother as a horse whisperer. Amy takes on troubled horses and uses her intuition to rehabilitate them. Every so often something more extreme happens, in the vein of most soaps – a plane/car/motorcycle crash, fire or shooting, for instance – but it’s mostly just horsey family fun.
If this sounds incredibly hokey, it is – but Heartland is also wholesome and soothing. I blame the show for taking me from an adult amateur horse rider who had just resumed taking lessons in 2016, when I first streamed the show on Netflix, through to the insanity of my life today. I now own three horses, see them twice a day, compete in eventing, showjumping and dressage (albeit not very well), and have not a lot of money in my bank account.
What was it about Heartland that made me want to throw financial security to the wind and invest my time and funds in horses? It could have been the cinematography capturing the wild beauty of the Alberta mountainscape. The setting is like a beloved character, the Heartland ranch a sprawling property with woodlands and streams.
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.
• Heartland seasons one to six are streaming on Amazon Prime Video, and seasons seven to 17 are streaming on Netflix. For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here
