If you like a horse with a personality then you need to meet Ella Petak and her show partner Gettin Hot.

“When his stall window is open, he reaches out, grabs his halter off the hook, swings it around and then throws it on the ground,” said the Rancho Palos Verdes, California native.

Ella and “Mako” compete in Horsemanship, Trail, Equation, Western Riding, Showmanship and Halter classes, under the guidance of Reid Thomas.

The 2011 bay gelding is sired by Blazing Hot and out of Beckys Millenium, and became Ella’s show partner in November of 2016. By April the new team was winning Horsemanship and Trail classes and collecting All-Around awards. The following year, at her very first trip to the All-American Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio, Ella and Gettin Hot placed third in the Level 1 Horsemanship with 127 entries.

Ella loves to show in Horsemanship and Trail because Horsemanship is so technical and Mako is so talented at Trail.

She said what motivates her to show is her love for horses and the support of her parents.

The only child of Bill and Lynn Petak, Ella grew up around horses.

“My Mom and Dad have horses, donkeys and a mule and my dad rode bulls in college and jumped horses,” she explained.

Ella says her mom, who rehabilitates wildlife, passed on her love for animals to Ella.

“I grew up riding at our neighborhood barn, Portuguese Bend Riding Club. Callie Bell, the Western trainer there got me into showing.”

Ella’s very first prize was at the Portuguese Bend show where everyone in the class won a blue ribbon.

“My first real award was the 11 & Under Walk/Jog All Around Champion in 2012 at Sun and Surf in California,” she said.

Today she owns a total of four horses. In addition to Gettin Hot, she owns Its Finally Summer, a 2013 red roan mare by My Final Notice and out of Do It On A Whim, currently being shown by Thomas in Green and Junior Trail.

In 2016 Ella retired her first show horse, Blazing In Time, a 1998 bay gelding by Blazing Hot and out of Shady Bar Sadie.

“I showed him in Trail, Western Riding, Horsemanship, Hunter Under Saddle and Equitation,” she said.

Then in 2017, Ella retired her Halter/Showmanship horse, A Silent Victory, a 1998 sorrel gelding sired by Radical and out of Leaguers Leadin Lady that she called “Radar.”

Ella just completed her sophomore year at Palos Verdes High School. Although she has not decided yet on what college she will attend, she does know she would like to attend a school with an equestrian program.

Like many her age, Ella enjoys pop and country music. She says her favorite movie is Another Cinderella Story with Hillary Duff and her dream vacation would be swimming in the ocean with pigs at Pig Island in the Bahamas. Most people would be surprised to learn that Ella is a high- level tap dancer.

She says her greatest accomplishment outside the show arena is staying grounded enough to do well in school and dance on her school’s dance team. She takes school very seriously and is already giving thought to her future.

“My two top interests for a career right now are animal physical therapy and horse training,” she said.