Horseland is an American animated series produced by DIC Entertainment. It follows the events in the lives of a group of children 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 (now Cookie Jar TV). 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 and 39 episodes, the show was cancelled 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. The series has seven related books which are available to be purchased online.
This show, along with Sushi Pack and DinoSquad, were the final three series produced by DIC before their acquisition with Cookie Jar Entertainment, who produced the third and final season of Horseland until the series ended its run in 2008. Cookie Jar (along with most of the DiC library) would be acquired by DHX Media (now known as WildBrain) in 2012.
Premise Set on the fictional ranch of Horseland Stables, the series follows the adventures of six pre-teens (Sarah, Alma, Molly, Bailey, Chloe, Zoey, Will, and Nani in Season 3) and their horses, who each deal with their own life situations. Almost every episode is narrated in flashback by Shep the Rough Collie. He gives the episode's featured lesson to Teeny the pig and Angora the cat in the opening and ending scenes.
Characters The characters of Horseland are usually limited to the group of kids who are frequently at the stable, but some episodes (especially those which involve travelling), introduce one-time characters as a plot device.
Sarah Whitney and Scarlet Sarah Whitney is the 12-year-old English-American central character of the series who likes to make friends. She is very friendly and loves to encourage others to do their best and have fun. She comes from a rich family but does not consider herself better than others because of it. She stays more loyal to Molly, Alma, and Bailey, and later Nani when she joins in Season 3. Sarah has wavy blonde hair with bleached highlights and baby-blue eyes. She also has silver hoop earrings with piercings in her ears. Sarah wears a red riding jacket with a matching red necktie and white pants. She has been seen at younger ages and in different hairstyles in flashbacks. She is voiced by Dana Donlan.
Sarah's horse is Scarlet, a purebred black Shagya Arabian mare who has a black mane and tail with red highlights. She sometimes carries her tail higher than the other horses, a common trait of Arabian horses. Scarlet is fearless, level-headed, and regal. She is completely loyal to her owner. She is patient and loving, much like her owner, and is great with kids. Her symbol is a red crown, representing royalty. She is voiced by Andrea Ware.
Molly Washington and Calypso Molly Washington is a 12-year-old African-American girl who often deals with life's issues through humor. She is entertaining, creative, appealing, and enjoys self-deprecating humor. She at times applies similar humorous criticisms to her friends, which tends to annoy them, but Molly can become serious and ride a horse just as well as the others when her friends are depending on her. She is good at Western riding with Calypso and is the only one to consistently wear her hair in a ponytail. Molly wears a pink riding jumper and white pants. Her father is a dentist. She has a younger sister named Lissa, who also expresses an interest in horses. She is voiced by Aleyah Smith.
Molly's horse is Calypso, a brown/silver/bay spotted blanket Appaloosa mare with a creamy white mane and tail with pink highlights, who is warm-hearted, laid back, and affectionate. When she learns something once, she has learned it for life. She likes her friends and rider dearly, and is best friends with Button, who always jumps to Calypso's defense. She speaks with a Caribbean accent. Her symbol is a pink heart, representing love. She is voiced by Emily Hernandez.
Alma Rodriguez and Button Alma Rodriguez is a 12-year-old girl who comes from a tight-knit Mexican-American family, and is the best jumper at Horseland. While living in Mexico, her grandfather gave her a medallion of St. Martin of Tours. Later, Alma and her family moved to the United States. Alma's father is the manager at Horseland. He taught her how to ride when she was younger. Alma wears a white jumper with light green vest and khaki pants, and is a bibliophile. Alma is also constantly using the knowledge she learns from the Internet. She is voiced by Emily Hernandez.
Alma's horse is Button, a black and white tobiano trakehner mare with green highlights in her wavy white mane and tail. Her owner is Alma, whom she has been with for 10 years, coming from Mexico to Horseland when Alma and her family moved. She has a Mexican accent. She likes to please Alma and does not work very hard to do so. She is fully focused and talented, especially at jumping, and has earned the title of "The best jumper at Horseland". When she has to do something important, Button is extremely focused and patient and is ready to do whatever it takes to get it done, including going over show acts in the pouring rain, or constantly going over jump after jump, and she is best friends with Calypso. Her symbol is a clover, representing luck. She is voiced by Laura Marr and Tiffany White-Welchen in some episodes.
Bailey Handler and Aztec Bailey Handler is the 13-year-old son of the Horseland owners. He often takes risks and bets not considering the consequences of his actions, and enjoys joking around and having a good time. He loves horses and animals, and insists that they be treated with kindness and gentleness. Bailey has a dark brown mullet and dark blue eyes, and is considered the local heartthrob at the stables, much to his own embarrassment. Bailey wears dark blue long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up and light blue pants. He sometimes wears a cowboy hat. He is voiced by David Kalis.
Bailey's horse is Aztec, a light brown-bay Kiger mustang stallion with a dark brown mane and tail with dark blue highlights and a white muzzle. He frequently acts irritable and nonchalant, but he honestly cares about his friends and other animals. He is often protective of his mare friends, much to their irritation, and has shown great courage, determination, and leadership skills. His symbol is a dark blue lightning bolt, representing strength. He is voiced by Ben Birkholtz.
Chloe Stilton and Chili Chloe is the 12-year-old older twin sister of Zoey and one of the two anti-heroes of the series, who is a confident, skilled young girl who likes to let other people know of her talents. She comes from an affluent family and can often be conceited, self-centered, and depthless, but like her sister, Chloe can also be very friendly and polite with the other girls. She has an unrequited crush on Bailey, and would go to great lengths to impress him. She is especially fond of fashion and makeup, and loves to look great when she rides. Though Chloe is competitive with her sister, Zoey, they still support each other when it is important. Chloe has strawberry blonde hair and light green eyes. She wears a lavender jumper, a lavender headband and purple pants. She is voiced by Bianca Heyward (season 1–2) and Caroline Iliff (in "Win Some, Lose Some", and in some episodes of season 2 and in season 3).
Chloe's horse is Chili, a light grey Dutch Warmblood stallion with lavender highlights in his white mane and tail and a dark gray blaze on his muzzle. Chili shares Chloe's confidence to the point that he feels he is the most talented horse at Horseland, though he often feels upstaged and unappreciated by his showy rider. He and Aztec disagree with each other frequently. Both Chili and his rider are talented in dressage. His symbol is a lavender diamond, representing discipline. He is voiced by Stephen Michael Shelton.
Zoey Stilton and Pepper Zoey is the 12-year-old younger twin sister of Chloe and the second anti-hero of the series, who takes a more devious approach with her competitiveness and is into fashion and makeup like Chloe. She is talented in cross country, and is also captain of Horseland's cross-country team. Zoey also likes to show off and can be flirtatious with the boys that she meets. She is competitive with her sister Chloe, but they still support each other. Depending on the circumstances, Zoey can appear shallow and rude, or thoughtful and nice. Zoey has wavy red hair, freckles and green eyes. She wears a light blue short-sleeved top and two-tone khaki pants. She is voiced by Marissa Maliani.
Zoey's horse is Pepper, a snobby steel-gray purebred Dutch Warmblood mare with light blue highlights in her slate grey wavy mane and tail, and a white muzzle. Pepper is quick-tempered and irritable, donning a large ego and confidence to match. While she likes her rider and is good friends with Chili, she often clashes with the other horses. Like Zoey, Pepper is cynical, spirited, and likes to compete. Her symbol is a light blue crescent moon, representing grace. She is voiced by Tifanie Christun.
Will Taggert and Jimber Will is a 15-years-old boy who is often put in charge of the ranch while Bailey's parents are away. He is Bailey's cousin and has lived with Bailey's family ever since he was younger. Mature and insightful, he often acts as an adult figure to the rest of the kids and also serves as their riding instructor and mentor. He loves to listen to country music and is great at horse riding, whether it be Western and English. He has blonde hair and greyish-blue eyes. He wears a black short-sleeved shirt with a horseshoe pendant around his neck, and dark blue pants. Will has dyslexia, just like Sarah's cousin Chase. He always helps her when she is down and defends her when she is hurt. He is voiced by Vincent Michael (season 1 and 2) and Ian Eli Lee (season 3).
Will's horse is Jimber, a palomino Quarter Horse stallion with black highlights in his off-white mane and a white front foot. Similar to Will, he has a commanding presence among the others, and worked as a ranch horse before coming to Horseland. He is a bit older in years in comparison to the other horses, and is dependable and wise. Jimber speaks with a Southern accent. His symbol is a black star, representing loyalty. He is voiced by D. Kevin Williams.
Nani Cloud and Sunburst Nani is a 12-year-old Native American girl who debuts at the start of season 3. She is proud of her Cherokee ethnic heritage and loves nature and horses. Nani has blue-black hair with braided tendrils and hazel eyes, and wears a light blue long-sleeved Cherokee jacket with light yellow accents, and blue jeans. She is quick to defend herself and accidentally stirs up a rivalry between herself and Zoey for the position of leadership for the cross-country team at Horseland. Nani is calm, friendly, intelligent, and good with animals. She is voiced by Rachel Ware.