Varian Arabians

26/07/2025

A wonderful story about a beautiful “V” mare. It all started with a once in a lifetime birthday present given with unconditional love. She became the foundation broodmare for Sherry Conrads & Al Noor Arabians. RIP Breathless V, you have left your mark on many hearts 💞

Breathless V 🪽
May 9, 2006 – July 24, 2025

Every breeder has that one horse—the beginning. The one who makes a dream real.

For Sherry, it was Breathless V.

A birthday gift from her husband in 2009, Breathless arrived at just three years old—and, true to her name, took Sherry’s breath away. She sparked a late-in-life passion for breeding that grew into legacy.

Through her came beauty, grace, and a lineage that quietly reshaped boutique Arabian breeding—most notably through her daughter, Balajka V, and the extraordinary foals that followed.

But more than bloodlines, Breathless gave Sherry something deeper: purpose, joy, and a home filled with framed memories of the horses that came from her.

She retired in 2022 to the peaceful pastures of Antheia Arabians just down the road from where her story first began. And yesterday, she left this world—gracefully, as she lived.

Grief and gratitude often come wrapped together. When the love runs this deep, so does the ache.

Breathless V wasn’t just a mare— she was the heartbeat of Al Noor Arabians.

“A heart that’s broke is a heart that’s been loved.” — Ed Sheeran

Welcome home, Breathless. You brought a piece of us with you.

You always will. 💔

Pictured: Breathless V and her filly, Balinka V, in 2016. Photo by Sherry Conrads.

23/07/2025

Sheila was set on the quality of her stallion, Bay-Abi, and her three mares. But the rest of the world had never heard of Bay-Abi. So Sheila took on the professionals once again… this time standing next to her horse instead of riding him. To gain acclaim, Bay-Abi would have to defeat the top stallions in the Arabian horse industry at the U.S. National Championship Show, where the country’s leading stallions are judged on conformation, quality, and beauty. Sheila and Wenonah loaded up their station wagon and Meily 2-horse trailer and set out for the 1962 U.S. Nationals in Estes Park, CO to compete against the breed’s best and brightest stallions. Forty-five stallions entered the class on July 4th. The class was a four-hour marathon.

💝 SHEILA VARIAN GIFT COLLECTION:
*V: The Legacy of Sheila Varian Documentary: bit.ly/DocumentaryDVD
*Let's Ride: A Memoir By Sheila Varian" Book: https://a.co/d/3h4mvbe
We LOVE Arabian Horses

20/07/2025

📆 Six decades of breeding choices by one of the world's foremost breeders... all leading to one horse.

And he's available to you. http://bit.ly/MajorMacV

19/07/2025

Available for Your Consideration: NEON MOON V 🌙

(Always A Jullyen V x Cremes SMokn Topaz) 5/21/2020 Bay Half-Arabian Gelding

Meet this TALL, handsome new addition to our sales list! Neon Moon V is a 15.2hh half-Arabian gelding by the late great Western pleasure sire of champions, Always a Jullyen V and out of the AQHA mare, Cremes Smokn Topaz. He's a beautiful mover being activiely campaigned and shown by Todd Hickerson, Additionally, he's eligible to be branded with the Varian V.

Current show record:
❇️ 2024: Pacific Slopes Championship Show - Reserve Champion Western Pleasure Jr. Horse
❇️ AHANC Annual Horse Show A-B Concurrent: 2nd place HA/AA Western Pleasure Junior Horse

📸 https://www.varianarabians.com/for-sale/neon-moon-v.html

16/07/2025

“The fact that she brought those three mares from Poland was sheer bravery. You must understand that communication in the 1960s – with the absence of cell phones, emails, and faxes – was limited to letters… letters to Polish government, which was at the height of communist occupation by the Russian regime. And here is a young girl and her mother from America trying to buy horses in Poland. It was unheard of. It was kind of as crazy as people first landing in America, and traveling from the East coast to the West coast in wagons for the first time. At some point, she had to be thinking, ‘what if I lose them? What if they die on the way?’ So, it was this huge thing, full of complete bravery. And look now at how many doors she opened. After her, there were many many Americans that say, ‘You know, we can do it too.’ And it started a totally new era.” - Jerzy “George” Zbyszewski on

💝 SHEILA VARIAN GIFT COLLECTION:
*V: The Legacy of Sheila Varian Documentary: bit.ly/DocumentaryDVD
*Let's Ride: A Memoir By Sheila Varian" Book: https://a.co/d/3h4mvbe
We LOVE Arabian Horses

Pictured: Sheila holding Naganka for her first steps on Varian Arabians soil.

13/07/2025

Never, ever take the beauty of life for granted.... http://bit.ly/MajorMacV

10/07/2025

09/07/2025

09/07/2025

Jerzy “George” Zbyszewski was a young student in Poland at the time of the Varian importations. As a volunteer groom at the Polish government studs, George became intricately involved and highly knowledgeable about the Pole’s fame breeding program.

“When Sheila brought the three mares from Poland in the 60’s, I don’t think she realized that was a turning point in the history of the Arabian breed. She was looking for the best mares she could get with a little bit of a different style that was available here to breed on. Knowing Sheila, I’m sure she just said, ‘Why not? Let’s try it.’ But from the very beginning, she knew she wasn’t going to follow conventional breeding strategies of that day. Back then, the common methodologies were to breed straight strains… straight Polish, straight Russian, straight Egyptian. Sheila’s idea didn’t fall into any of these categories. And it was really hard for her, but she still had the guts to do it.” Jerzy “George” Zbyszewski on

Pictured: Naganka in Poland.

💝 SHEILA VARIAN GIFT COLLECTION:
*V: The Legacy of Sheila Varian Documentary: bit.ly/DocumentaryDVD
*Let's Ride: A Memoir By Sheila Varian" Book: https://a.co/d/3h4mvbe
We LOVE Arabian Horses