Going The Distance With Amber Marshall

To say the least, Amber Marshall has the ultimate dream job. The vibrant young star of television’s Heartland is enjoying her thirteenth season on the popular Canadian based series as the lead character, Amy Fleming. For a self-professed lover of animals and an avid horsewoman who enjoys her free time riding her beloved equines in the beautiful outdoor spaces of Canada’s vast rural landscapes, the age-old adage “art imitates life” is an understatement.

With the sudden onset of COVID-19 across America, the impact throughout the entire Western industry has been substantial. From closed doors to cancelled events and exploded marketing plans, the crisis has had an effect in every far reaching corner. COWGIRL wanted to explore the impact by asking three simple questions to women who not only live, but work the Western way of life:

• What did you do to continue being productive in the face of COVID-19 shut downs?
• What is the most positive effect of your efforts to adapt to the restrictions?
• What is the most negative result these shut downs had on you?

AM: “My life did not change a whole lot when the shutdown began. We were already on hiatus from filming Heartland, so I was not working outside the house anyway. As a rule, I don’t spend a lot of time in town or public places. I am most content on my ranch surrounded by my husband and animals, and luckily nothing had to change there! I am also very lucky to have a milk cow as well as laying hens, so we were able to get by for long periods of time without going on a grocery run. I admit I did bulk up on certain items—no not toilet paper, but canned goods, cereal, and such just so I didn’t have to go into town as often. It was also nice that our weather here started to get more ‘user friendly’ so we were in full spring-cleaning mode. I got a lot of things accomplished that had been on my ‘to do’ list for quite some time. I guess if I were to say anything, it would be not having the easy access to fresh produce. I love fresh fruit and veggies, and where I live that is only available on our farm in July and August (and in limited form), so that is one thing I typically would go into town a couple times a week for. I am learning to appreciate frozen ‘fresh’ fruit now, but it is just not the same!”