Indoor jump lesson - for weeknights in the winter

I asked Shannon for help with an exercise that I could use for winter weeknights, when it's dark and raining outside, but I don't have time to set up and take down a whole bunch of jumps inside. In addition to the 2/3/4 "corners" of a circle that we've done before, and the line of fences that I use to make a serpentine, she suggested two at angles to make a figure 8.
I also had a lot of flat questions for her. The first thing I noticed, as I do in every lesson, is that she makes me ride so much harder than I ride when I'm on my own. And this is a bit hard to describe, but it's - every second of every step we're focused on doing something and asking for more during the lesson - but alone, we kind of putter around. When I'm alone, it doesn't feel like puttering, it feels like working, but then when I have a lesson, I leave thinking that I'm not working at all when I'm alone (I'm usually out of breath within the first 10 minutes in my lesson).
Next I asked about the canter to trot transition that has been so bumpy, and she suggested (rightly) that I'm probably asking too much for trot and not enough pushing into trot. That cleared it right up.
She also set up a few of the "obstacles" (jump door open, cat on the wall, horse walking by) to make Willig work hard enough that he didn't have a chance to be spooky. (Ha! He's working just as hard as I am in the lesson!)
Then we worked a bit on my lame hand. That right hand is like a death clamp. And so I'd hold the breastplate with my fingers to keep my hands still (which was agony!) and then we put my crop behind my elbows (more agony!). And it was agony because I'm twitchy. I am constantly moving my fingers up and down the reins and letting go and sucking up again and moving them forward and moving them back, and asking him to bend with my hands instead of my legs. And it was absolutely awkward and terrible to ride with my hands being still. It felt like I was in a straightjacket. So I have GOT to work on that. My goodness.
Then we worked on my leg aids (prior post - I put my leg way back to ask, not just ask at the girth) and Shannon demonstrated that a proper canter aid is with your leg back - FROM THE HIP - like scissors - not swinging your heel up from the knee. Which made me wonder, once again, why Willig does anything for me at all. C'mon - a few carrots? Not worth it!
Shannon also pointed out that I "suck up" the reins (the "spider walking") and I should just grab and pull them. That's the way (grab and pull) I used to do it, then I retrained myself to suck up. So it'll be a relief to go back to grab and pull.
She also pointed out that some day, I'll have two different toe positions - one for dressage and one for jumping (which can be a bit pointed out, and is the way my toe likes to ride). But that's a detail that I don't have to worry about just yet.
So after all that, which was super useful but super hard to think about breaking those habits now, we moved to the figure 8.
This went pretty smoothly - we pretty consistently (like 90%) missed the right lead, but pretty consistently (also 90%?) got the left lead. Weird. Oh wait - it's my heavy right hand.
When he's trying to look at other things, Shannon had me make circles and make those transitions sharp and him respond when I ask him to respond.
Then she made the one fence into an oxer and the other into about a 2'8" vertical. Willig jumped both just great, but the vertical - which is close to the maximum height I've ever jumped him - he'd actually get round over, and I came home and told Tom, all dreamy, that he just floats. I've never ridden a horse like him before. When he is actually jumping, and not half-ass going over a fence, it feels like magic. The same when I get everything in dressage just right - it is just an incredible feeling! No wonder people spend the extra bucks on warmbloods. It is divine!
So then we wrapped up with me whining again about how I don't want to ride hopeful again, it's embarrassing, but I just don't see him mentally ready this year. Shannon pointed out that a) I should pick my shows carefully - the jump design varies tremendously; b) I will need to school him a bit, since it's the traveling and the scary outdoors that is hard for him and can only be overcome by time; c) I need to start at hopeful until he's being consistent - no stopping at a pile of poles on the ground, and where I'm comfortable with the fences and not intimidated by them (we were starting to get there at the end of this year); and then d) she thinks if we work hard, he can probably do recognized beginner novice by the end of the season, since there's quite a few derbies at the beginning, and then that weird June gap, and then quite a few recognized shows at the end. Yay! A new goal!
And he was so good. He has come so far in the last year. I'm getting quite fond of him. It's true - having to work way outside my comfort zone, while difficult, has made me really appreciate the progress we've made. I dare say I love him a little bit, and last year I was ready to sell him!