Breathless V

by Cindy Reich

I first met Shelia through a friend during the Scottsdale show in 2009. This friend introduced Shelia to me and invited us both to dinner. A few minutes into the meal, Shelia turned to me and declared, “You Need A Horse!!” 

Breathless V (Jullyen El Jamaal x Bint Balalinka)

I said, oh, Shelia, you don’t understand. We live in the city and I don’t have a place to keep a horse. Shelia replied, “No, you need a horse. Come sit with me tomorrow in my box and I’m gonna show you some horses”, and she did!

Breathless V is now 18 years old, retired and living in a big, green pasture at Antheia Arabians with Diane Brown’s retired gelding.

She showed me some geldings, but I told Shelia that none of them really appealed to me. Shelia wasn’t giving up so easily and invited me and my husband, Bob, to the ranch. Once again, she showed us several geldings. I said “Shelia, I’ve been dreaming all my life of breeding Arabian horses and if I was ever lucky enough to get an Arabian, I would want a mare!!”

Al Noor Miralena was Gold Champion Filly at the Emirates Global Cup at the Arabian Breeders World Cup in Scottsdale 2024, and Silver Supreme Champion Yearling Filly at the Arabian Breeders World Cup.

So, on a third visit to the ranch, Shelia said, “I’ve got you figured out”. She held her hand down low and said, “you don’t want down here, you want up here”—and held her hand up high in the air. “Look at me, I replied, “I don’t have time for low. I want up here (motioning up high). “Well,”, Shelia said, I have 3 yearling fillies. They are all the same quality and the same price. I’ll sell you one of them. They were not included in the Summer Jubilee sale, but I’ll sell you one of those fillies.

Al Noor Mahira and Al Noor Miralena—full sisters and granddaughters of Breathless V. They. Are both out of Balajka V (Om El Bellissimo x Breathless V) and by Om El Maxims.

I walked down to the barn and Oh my God, there was Breathless, and it was no contest whatsoever. Bob and I said, “Thank you very much”, and we left. Breathless was a very pricey filly, which was fair, but I had to think about it. Two months later, I got a phone call from Shelia and she said, “Sherry, there’s a woman here from Sweden (it was Johanna Ulstrom) and she wants to buy Breathless. I need to sell her, but I thought I’d give you a call since I offered her to you first”.

Al Noor Mahira was second in her yearling filly class at the GCAT Americas in Scottsdale in 2025 and 4th in the Championship.

I said, “Can you give me two hours?” and she agreed. I hung up and called my husband’s office and his officious secretary responded by saying, “Mr. Conrads is in a very important meeting and cannot be disturbed. I replied, “Well, let me make myself perfectly clear. I don’t care if Mr. Conrads is in a meeting with the Dear Lord himself—this is a family emergency, and I need to speak to him immediately”! A few seconds later, Bob was on the phone, thinking one of our children was dead, because I had never, ever in 30 years said that to his secretary. I knew my voice was quivering when I told him that Shelia had to sell Breathless. Bob replied, “No, you call Shelia back and you tell her that Breathless is yours and we will figure out the rest”.

I called Shelia back and she laughed and said, “Oh, I’m so glad, because I want Breathless for you! Don’t worry about where you are going to keep her. You can keep Breathless here for the rest of her life if you want to!”

And that is how I acquired Breathless as a 60th birthday gift from Bob and began my dream of breeding Arabian horses!