Fantasy competition series 'The Quest' to premiere tonight on ABC

MURRIETA - Ashley Guerrero, a 35-year-old horse trainer from Murrieta, is among a dozen contestants on ''The Quest,'' a 10-episode competition series aimed at fans of fantasy and fairytales premiering at 8 p.m. tonight on ABC.

Guerrero is also skilled in trick riding, archery and boxing.

The initial field of contestants was chosen through open calls and video submissions, with producers seeking fantasy enthusiasts seeking ''to go on the epic journey of a lifetime,'' according to ABC.

''The Quest'' was conceived in part by an executive producer of ''The Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy. Each episode of the series, which was filmed in Austria, will include a storyline, animatronic creatures, real-time 3D projection mapping and two challenges.

The three lowest-scoring contestants, dubbed as Paladins, will face a second challenge, known as a fates challenge. The winner is saved from elimination, known on ''The Quest'' as banishment. The remaining Paladins decide which of the other two will remain on the series.

Mark Ordesky, an executive producer of ''The Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy, and Jane Fleming, a fellow former executive with New Line Cinema, came up with the idea for ''The Quest'' after seeing the fun the films' actors had sword fighting and horseback riding.

Ordesky and Fleming, who had formed their own media company, Count Five, discussed the idea with Michael Williams and Rob Eric, who produced the Bravo makeover series ''Queer Eye.''

Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, the co-creators of the perennial Emmy-winning CBS competition series ''The Amazing Race,'' later joined the producing team of ''The Quest.''