Samantha Anne Forster

Samantha "Sam" Forster is the teenage daughter of Louise and Wyatt Forster, and the granddaughter of Grace Forster. Louise died when Sam was five years old and Sam remembers her mom a little bit, nine years later Wyatt married Sam's stepmother Brynna Olson. Sam has a half brother, Cody, who is just a baby. By Run Away Home, Sam is fourteen and a sophomore at Darton High School.

When Sam was eleven, she had an accident. While riding her young horse Blackie, a gate slammed, spooking the horse. Sam fell off, and while Blackie was running away, one of his hooves accidentally struck Sam's head. Her best friend Jake Ely, who was with Sam at the time, immediately ran for help. Sam was taken to the hospital, where the doctors said that Sam might suffer from complications. Out of concern for his daughter's safety Wyatt decided it was best for Sam to leave the ranch for a while, and sent her to live with Aunt Sue in San Francisco, California.

Sam lived in San Francisco for two years before Wyatt said that it was safe for her to come back to River Bend Ranch. After she comes home, Sam manages to prove her worth by saving a drowning calf on the muddy playa, but Wyatt and Jake still act overprotective at times. She thinks of Jake as a guard dog, because he doesn't trust her to stay out of trouble for one second. He still treats her like a little kid. When Sam is first introduced she is still immature and clueless to the consequences of her actions. She thinks with her heart more than her head, which puts her in danger when ever a distressed animal is involved. As the series progresses, Sam faces many challenges, from saving a blind foal, to dealing with a brush fire while house sitting, she is shown to mature greatly. By the last book, Jake makes a comment about how "it takes a lot more get you stirred up than it used to," showing us Sam is less likely to get into trouble. Her Dad also mutters to himself that she is "sounding more like a cowgirl everyday." Sam also has to deal with a car accident in the last book, when the bus Sam and Darby (the first Dream Catcher Wild Horse camper) are in rolls from the icy road and hits a wild mare. Sam takes action when the bus driver is unresponsive due to a head injury. She gets out the emergency supplies and deals with Mr. Prestons injuries, and then starts the walk to Alkali for help, stomping SOS in the snow and leaving bright yellow sports wrap to catch the eye of anyone who might drive past. Sam helps deliver her baby brother, Cody, when her and her step-mom Brynna are snowed in.

At the beginning of the series, Sam receives a cow pony named Ace, who is very smart and a former wild mustang. Ace is a bay, with white stalkings on his back legs, a black mane, and a star hidden by his forelocks on his forehead. Sam also receives a kitten from Jake in book 6, that she names cougar. While she loves Ace and cougar, her favorite animal is the Phantom. A silver stallion who was once her horse Blackie. He is a wild stallion now and has his own herd that live in the secret valley. Sam has a special name she calls him that seals their bond. Throughout the series, her main goal is to stop Linc Slocum from capturing her beloved Phantom stallion, so he can stay free and full of spirit. Sam eventually builds up Blackie's trust and she occasionally is graced with the gift of being able to ride him. In book 12 ,Dark Sunshine gives birth to the Phantoms filly: Tempest, who was born pure black like her father, but will surly turn white as well. Tempest is Sam's horse, and Sam treats Tempest like she did Blackie, but she will not make the same mistakes she did with Tempests father. Jake will once again help Sam train her horse.

Physical Appearance
Sam has auburn hair and blue eyes. Her hair used to be long, but when she came home from San Francisco, she cut her ponytail off hoping it would make her look older and her Dad would take her more seriously. It turned out badly, and Brynna helped her fix it before school started. Her hair is now about shoulder length. Sam is described as being 5 feet in the first several books, but later Jake comments on her being 5 feet 2 inches, so she is short but getting taller.

Personality
Sam is extremely stubborn, a trait she apparently inherited from her father. She loves animals of all kinds, a trait she inherited from her mother, and something that drives both Wyatt and Jake crazy since it means she will do almost anything to help the animals she knows. Sam often acts instinctively and is not very good about thinking through the consequences of her actions. Sam enjoys basketball, movies, photography, and she's a member of the newspaper staff at her school.