2 steps away from my huff (and two halves)

I had a good dressage lesson yesterday. The take away homework was:
- Lean back during the sitting trot and "firm up" my core. No more wavy following, but a firm, controlled "bounce". I can only just barely feel what my body is doing when I get it right - it is some refined motor control I don't control yet, but when I get it right, I feel Willig lift up in his shoulders. It feels to me kind of like, lean back (which is really just straight), think belly button pulled into spine like in pilates, have my heels and lower legs right, and then it is kind of a "sucking" him up on the down step with my inner thighs and butt. But it is something a little more than that, and I can't put my finger on what I am doing when I hit the last magic button, and I also can't make them all align at once when I want them to.
- Work on the responsiveness to the aids. Walk-trot-walk-halt-walk-canter-trot-walk immediately.
- Keep the correct bend in the shallow loops of counter canter. I have been, with that pesky right hand, turning his neck to the right.
- Work on "horsey sit ups" - the collected, small 10 meter canter. Do the responsiveness on a circle spiraling in, when I get in, ask for the canter, hold it for 2-3 strides, and then go big and let him trot. These are the rough foundation stones for the next cool stuff to come. Side note: 2-3 strides of this is like the same as 10 minutes of regular trotting around the arena - hard stuff.
Willig was pretty much a gentleman and worked pretty hard.
I am crossing my fingers that his recent few months of being kind of a doofus are the transition into starting 2nd level movements and polishing our 1st level, and that it's his way of testing me to see if I'm really going to make him work. And maybe we have, for the moment, passed that hurdle and he's back to giving me his good work outs.
The half step away from my huff is he was also good for J today, who jumped him on a bendy line.
The half step back toward my huff is a new horsey friend who bought a 4 year old off the track thoroughbred 6 months ago, showed him at the end of the year last year, and he jumps 3', ditches, and banks without batting an eye. (shaking my fist at the sky) He's a real cutie too.