Heartland (novel series)

Last updated

Heartland is a 25-novel series created by Lauren Brooke, and begun in 2000 with the novel Coming Home. The series is about a girl named Amy Fleming, who lives on a horse ranch called Heartland in Virginia, where she, family, and friends heal and help abused or mistreated horses. They attempt to help the abused horses by using psychologically based therapies instead of more traditional training methods. Throughout the series, the main character, Amy, finds healing along with the horses that she treats. Eventually, Amy is faced with tough decisions that put Heartland's future and fate in her hands. The target readership is ages 8 to 14. In 2007, a TV series based on the novels, but set in the Canadian province of Alberta, debuted in Canada on the CBC network and in the US in syndication on The CW Plus affiliates of The CW Network and then moved over first-run to family-oriented cable network Up TV in 2010.

Contents

Series

  1. "Coming Home" (June 2000)
  2. "After the Storm" (June 2000)
  3. "Breaking Free" (October 2000)
  4. "Taking Chances" (February 2001)
  5. "Come What May" (June 2001)
  6. "One Day You'll Know" (October 2001)
  7. "Out of Darkness" (February 2002)
  8. "Thicker Than Water" (June 2002)
  9. "Every New Day" (September 2002)
  10. "Tomorrow's Promise" (December 2002)
  11. "True Enough" (March 2003)
  12. "Sooner or Later" (June 2003)
  13. "Darkest Hour" (September 2003)
  14. "Everything Changes" (December 2003)
  15. "Love is a Gift" (March 2004)
  16. "Holding Fast" (June 2004)
  17. "A Season of Hope" (September 2004)
  18. "New Beginnings" (March/April 2005)
  19. "From This Day On" (July 2005)
  20. "Always There" (July 2005)

Special Edition Books

  1. "A Holiday Memory" (November 2004) also published in UK as "Winter Memories" (November 2004)
  2. "Amy's Journal" (December 2005)
  3. "Beyond the Horizon" (April 2007)
  4. "Winter's Gift" (October 2007)
  5. "A Summer to Remember" (May 2008)

Characters

Amy Fleming - The main character of the series. After the death of her mother and the injuries of Amy in an accident during a storm when Amy and her mother went to rescue an abused horse they had named Spartan, Amy is challenged with both her runaway emotions and managing the equine sanctuary, Heartland, she calls home. With the help of her friends and family, she pulls through and decides to take over her mother's legacy. Her natural talent with horses helped her to cure and save many otherwise neglected animals, and despite the doubts of many, she stays strong to her beliefs. Over the years, her relationship with Ty, the stable hand, develops and they grow closer to each other. Amy faces hard challenges in her life, especially when it comes to deciding her future: college or Heartland. Amy has a brief cameo appearance in the Chestnut Hill series, also by Lauren Brooke.

Jack Bartlett - Amy and Lou's grandfather. He is a kind, yet stubborn, man and often helps the girls with the horses and acts as a counselor to characters in the books. He helps the girls process their grief after their mother's death, and re-introduces Tim Fleming, Amy and Lou's father, into their life. Jack has never forgiven Tim for leaving Marion after his accident.

Lou Fleming-Trewin - Amy's sister, who is eight years older. Lou is organized and runs the business side of Heartland after her mother's death. Amy looks up to Lou; she is practical and brave, like Tim. Lou is very close to her dad and they were inseparable during her childhood, and eventually adulthood. She marries Scott and has a daughter, Holly Marion.

Ty Baldwin - The stable hand at Heartland, Ty dropped out of high school to pursue a permanent position at Heartland. He helps cure the horses. Ty is one of Amy's closest friends throughout the series, and eventually her boyfriend. He helps her through personal and professional challenges, and he often understands her when no one else can. Ty and Amy have a close relationship, and they become boyfriend & girlfriend later in the series. However, they break up when Amy leaves for college, but remain friends as of "A Winter's Gift".

Scott Trewin - The local vet for Heartland. Scott agrees with Heartland's alternative methods of treating horses. He is also Matt's older brother. He marries Lou and thus is Amy's brother-in-law, as well as a half-brother-in-law to Lily, Tim's daughter with Helena. He and Lou have a daughter named Holly Marion.

Soraya Martin - Amy's best friend since the 3rd grade. She helps Amy through hard times and, as a horse lover her herself, occasionally helps at Heartland as well as going on countless trail rides with Amy. During the series, she becomes romantically involved with Matt Trewin, and later, a boy named Anthony.

Ashley Grant - Amy's rival in the series. Ashley's parents own Green Briar Stables, a stable for competition horses. Ashley often competes against Amy in jumping competitions. Perhaps as a result of her parents' constant pressure and high expectations, Ashley is extremely competitive and hostile towards Amy and her peers.

Valerie "Val" Grant - The owner of Green Briar, Heartland's rival, Val is described as overbearing and snobby. Val believes in using very firm discipline- for example, whips and riding crops- on her horses; many of her students agree with her techniques. Val considers it a waste of time to develop a relationship with horses. Val schools her ponies to respond to the commands of any rider and her horses learn to "excel in one area and complete a course to win". Val, Ted and Ashley periodically attempt to shut Heartland down. Val is often an antagonist in the Heartland novels.

Timothy "Tim" Fleming - Lou and Amy's father. Tim and Amy have not seen each other since Amy was 5, but their relationship evolves as the series progresses. He left Amy's mother and her family after he was hurt in a riding accident. Tim was paralysed in his accident; he is now in a wheelchair. After some time, Tim evidently began to regret leaving Marion, Amy and Lou. He found out where they were living and he sent a letter asking forgiveness, which Marion did not respond to. After Marion's death, he comes to visit Lou and Amy ("Thicker Than Water") and Amy finds out she is closer to her father than she thinks. He is now married to Helena and has another daughter, Lily.

Benjamin "Ben" Stillman - Ben's aunt sent him to work at Heartland. However, he realized that he wanted to focus more on his riding skills than his skill with troubled horses. He went to work for Nick Halliwell along with Daniel. They both compete in riding, Ben with his horse, Red, and Daniel with Storm.

Marion Bartlett-Fleming - Jack's daughter, a horse listener. Lou and Amy's mother and Tim's ex-wife. Heartland, and its alternative therapeutic methods, are described in the series as having been Marion's vision; Amy credits her knowledge of herbal remedies and training techniques to her mother. Marion dies in the beginning of the series from a trailer accident as she and Amy are trying to rescue an abandoned horse.

Use of Alternative and Herbal Treatments

Amy and the staff at Heartland are depicted over the course of the series using several alternative treatment methods for horses. One of the most common of these is the Bach flower essences, used to treat anxiety and induce calm. Amy also uses behavioral techniques to help skittish or abused horses; for example, "join-up" or "hooking on", a technique utilized by many natural horsemanship trainers. She is also periodically seen using massage and acupressure. One of the types of body work Amy uses is called Tellington TTouch, created by Linda Tellington-Jones. Amy uses other aspects of the Tellington Method to help horses learn to trailer safely, and to learn improved confidence on the ground and under saddle. Amy's references to physical characteristics of horses to analyze equine personality are based on Tellington-Jones' book "Getting in TTouch: Understand and Influence Your Horse's Personality."

Related Research Articles

<i>The Horse Whisperer</i> (film) 1998 film by Robert Redford

The Horse Whisperer is a 1998 American neo-western drama film directed by and starring Robert Redford, based on the 1995 novel The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans. Redford plays the title role, a talented trainer with a remarkable gift for understanding horses, who is hired to help an injured teenager and her horse back to health following a tragic accident.

<i>The Secret Storm</i> American television soap opera (1954–1974)

The Secret Storm is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas Search for Tomorrow and Love of Life. Gloria Monty, of General Hospital fame, was a longtime director of the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Sugden</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Andy Sugden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Emmerdale, played by Kelvin Fletcher. He made his first on-screen appearance on 4 July 1996. Andy is the son of Billy Hopwood and Trisha Hopwood and the adoptive son of Jack Sugden and Sarah Sugden.

The Saddle Club is a series of intermediate children's books published by Bantam Books between 1988 and 2001. The series was created by a publishing house using the contract writing services of self-professed equestrian novice Bonnie Bryant. Many titles were also written by ghostwriters. Spin-offs include four other book series: The Saddle Club Super Editions, The Saddle Club Inside Stories, Pony Tails, and Pine Hollow. The books were adapted into a TV show also called The Saddle Club. In the 1990s, there was also a fan club with a monthly newsletter and a line of model horses manufactured by Breyer.

<i>Thoroughbred</i> (series) Series of young adult novels

Thoroughbred is a series of young-adult novels that revolves around Kentucky Thoroughbred racing and equestrianism. The series was started in 1991 by Joanna Campbell, and numbered 72 books, in addition to several "super editions" and a spin-off series, Ashleigh, by the time it ended in 2005. The series focuses on a group of core characters, primarily Ashleigh Griffen, Samantha McLean, Cindy Blake/McLean and Ashleigh's daughter Christina, as well as Christina's friends. The series originally followed the adventures of Ashleigh as she was growing up; when Ashleigh reached adulthood, the focus of the books shifted to young Samantha McLean. During Samantha's college and adult years, the books centered on Cindy Blake McLean, Samantha's adopted younger sister. Late in the series, there was a large "time gap" before the series focused on to a teenaged Christina and her cousin Melanie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Maria Pracht</span> Canadian equestrian (1937–2021)

Eva Maria "Evi" Pracht was a Canadian equestrian who competed in dressage in the 1984 Summer Olympics and was part of the bronze-medallist team at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

<i>Horseland</i> (TV series) American animated series

Horseland is an American animated series produced by DIC Entertainment. It is a comic mischief program following the events in the lives of a group of children riding at Horseland, an equestrian school and stables. Their adventures include riding their horses and entering them in competitions to test their skill and friendships. The show premiered on September 16, 2006, as part of CBS's new Saturday morning cartoon block, KOL Secret Slumber Party on CBS later KEWLopolis. Concurrent with the series, the online virtual pet game that it was based upon was updated to complement the show by launching a new "Junior version" of the game based on the program and featuring its various characters and locations. After three seasons, the show was canceled on CBS and aired its final episode on December 6, 2008. Reruns of Horseland subsequently aired nationwide on the digital subchannel This TV; two episodes aired each weekend until September 2010. Horseland last aired as part of Cookie Jar TV on CBS. It has 7 books for the series related to the episodes which are available to be purchased online.

<i>Heartland</i> (Canadian TV series) Canadian family drama television series

Heartland is a Canadian family comedy-drama television series which debuted in Canada on CBC Television and originally in the United States on The CW Plus syndication on October 14, 2007. Since 2010, the series moved first-run to Up TV, but still continues to air in reruns on the latter channel as a part the service's weekend schedule.

Chestnut Hill is a novel series created by Lauren Brooke. "Chestnut Hill" is a spin off series to the Heartland series. The first book in the series, The New Class, was published in August 2005. The series revolves around four girls who live together at a boarding school in Virginia called Chestnut Hill, where they take classes and ride horses at a stable on the campus. Lauren Brooke has said that she went through a lot of preparation for this series, including listing and developing over one hundred names and drawing maps of her new setting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amber Marshall (actress)</span> Canadian actress (born 1988)

Amber Marshall is a Canadian actress, singer, and equestrian. She has appeared in several television films and series, most notably as Amy Fleming in the long-running CBC/Up TV series Heartland. For her performance in the series, Marshall won the inaugural Canada's Screen Star Award at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheila Varian</span> American horse breeder (1937–2016)

Sheila Varian was an American breeder of Arabian horses who lived and worked at the Varian Arabians Ranch near Arroyo Grande, California. She grew up with a strong interest in horses, and was mentored in horsemanship by Mary "Sid" Spencer, a local rancher and Morgan horse breeder who also introduced Varian to the vaquero or "Californio" tradition of western riding. She started her horse ranch, Varian Arabians, in 1954 with the assistance of her parents. Raising and training horses was her full-time occupation beginning in 1963. She used vaquero-influenced methods of training horses, although she adapted her technique over the years to fit the character of the Arabian horse, which she viewed as a horse breed requiring a smart yet gentle approach.

The Rogue Stallion is a 1990 Australian television film about a wild horse. It was part of the South Pacific Adventure Series. It was also released in the United States by Feature Films for Families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alisha Newton</span> Canadian actress (born 2001)

Alisha Newton is a Canadian actress. She is notable for her main roles as Georgie Fleming Morris on the Canadian television drama series Heartland, and as Helen Mathis in the cult thriller series Devil in Ohio in 2022.

Lauren Barwick is a member of the Canadian Equestrian Team, in grade II Para-Dressage, who has competed in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Games. She won three medals in those games. Barwick has featured in CBC's Heartland and has several awards.

<i>Free Rein</i> British television series

Free Rein is a British drama television series created and written by Vicki Lutas and Anna McCleery. It stars Jaylen Barron, Navia Robinson and Freddy Carter. Produced in the UK by Lime Pictures, the ten-part Series 1 premiered on Netflix on 23 June 2017. Although the island where the series is set is fictional and unnamed, it is based on Anglesey, Wales and is referred to as "an island off the coast of England" throughout the programme. The second series premiered on 6 July 2018. Shortly afterwards, Free Rein was renewed for a third series, as well as two feature-length special episodes. Free Rein: The 12 Neighs of Christmas, premiered on 7 December 2018. The second special, Free Rein: Valentine’s Day, premiered on 1 February 2019. The third series, consisting of 10 episodes, premiered on 6 July 2019. In January 2021, cast member Céline Buckens confirmed that the series had concluded.

<i>Black Beauty</i> (2020 film) 2020 film

Black Beauty is a 2020 adventure drama family film written, edited and directed by Ashley Avis and based on the 1877 novel of the same name by Anna Sewell. A co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, France and Germany, it stars Kate Winslet, Mackenzie Foy, Claire Forlani, Iain Glen and Fern Deacon and is the sixth cinematic adaptation. In the film, Black Beauty is portrayed as a mare instead of a stallion and is brought to Birtwick Park where she forges a bond with a spirited teenager that carries through different chapters, challenges and adventures. Originally scheduled for a theatrical release, it was unable to be released in cinemas due to the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The film's distribution rights were acquired by Walt Disney Studios and was released on the company's streaming service Disney+ on November 27, 2020. It received mixed reviews from critics. The film was removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023.

References