A full hour in the Regal - oh my

I had my first of two dressage lessons this month with Mike today. I have been focused on trying the various saddles to see what I like and if another saddle came close to the Regal experience (one, and oh my goodness saddle shopping is hard), and at one of the boarder's sage suggestions, I wanted to ride in his saddle again to see if it was just the novelty of riding in one that fit well, or if there really was a magical combination of features that makes it just exactly right.
It seems to be closer to Goldilocks and the porridge than novelty.
So I got to warm up in it, then have my entire lesson in it, and I must say, although my legs got a bit tired towards the end after the work without stirrups, it was really quite, quite nice to ride in and not fight with my own seat and legs.
I started with the dilemma with Willig outside. Mike's thoughts were that Willig has improved tremendously in the time he's been working with us, and he doesn't think he's a nasty mean horse, so he thinks I just need to tackle the outside issue as patiently and calmly and slowly as we did the inside issue, and that future lessons we could do the first half inside and the second half outside.
I agree with this approach, I'm just not sure it will work, but there's nothing to do but try. Mike is more confident that Willig will come along than I am. Mike's also a professional and Willig hasn't tried to buck him off yet, and his points are well taken that a high-spirited horse, once channelled, is more fun to ride than a plodding school horse.
So what we worked on:
This lesson felt like refining to me - thanks to the Regal.
We worked on his bend to the left. My right hand keeps him in a headlock, whether we are going right or left, so he is overbent to the right, and not bent at all to the left. Poor guy. That's why he's started picking up the left lead on a right circle - I'm cranking his head so far I'm sending his back end out. This just takes me paying attention.
We worked on his trot to canter transitions, with no running/falling into them. I have to think about collecting him up (and not letting my reins get long!), and then wheelie into it, instead of blah into it.
He has been breaking after a few canter strides (combined with a tail swish) and Mike thinks he is confused and a bit frustrated because I am clamping my thighs instead of loose legs. Loose legs = nicer moving Willig. Again, something I need to pay attention to.
We worked on the speed and "pulled together" trot, with a three step: 1- ask a bit bigger, 2- ask again, a bit bigger, and 3- ask again, this is just below a lenghtening trot, and oh man it is nice. Willig responds quite nicely. Once Willig starts paying attention, he gets very responsive.
We took away the stirrups and worked on sitting trot and canter, with the down transition being a smooth transition into the speed of trot I want (one that I can actually sit in the Regal), and this was really cool too. We did half circles so that I had to keep him together (and not spend half a circle getting him the way I want, then riding the other half of the circle).
The leg work and position for this was a bit more - thinking of my leg really pushing down and back into him, while the sit part is a belly-to-back but on a bouncing ball, and my upper body is a bit back. This is still not quite together, but I still get a few flashes of it being just right and it feels really good. And, for the first time in my life, I could feel his back leg moving. So it really is possible to time when you ask for a canter or whatever. It was pretty amazing, and Mike says it's also partly about riding with a tighter rein and him pulled together that lets me feel it.
Then we ended with an example of how to introduce something scary - working inside closer and closer to the scary side, we just move that way in stages - towards it, make a circle, a little further, make another circle, a little further, make a circle.
Then, walk towards it, stop, let him look, walk, stop, look, walk, stop, look, all with praise and patting. This was another consistent message - I don't reward him often enough when he does the right thing.
So big messages:
Bent to inside and let go with that cranky right hand
Keep working on sitting trot and the feel
Tighten up my transitions - no throwing him away up or down (for trot/canter and trot/walk)
Be patient with him and help him build confidence
And yes, I really want the Regal.