CVPC Derby

What a mixed bag!
There was a mix-up with my entry, and although they didn't have it, they graciously included me Sunday. But then my dressage time changed from 1:30 to 11:30 after the last time I checked. So when I leisurely pulled in, expecting to go walk the course a couple of times, it turns out I had 15 minutes to tack up Willig and warm up. Thanks to my barn friends (they did the grooming and tacking while I changed clothes) I shot over to the check-in with about 7 minutes to warm up. But the two riders before me didn't show, so after only about two laps of trot, they asked me if I would go ahead! I asked for a couple more minutes, and then after a whopping 3 minutes of warm up, we rode the dressage test.
And scored the right score for the test, but a lousy score for the class. #18 out of 24! There was a stupid error on my part (I halted at x) which wouldn't have mattered whether my test had been two hours later or not, but that was kind of discouraging since it's Willig's strongest suit.
Then the footing was not so great in the show jumping warm up, so I only popped a couple of fences. Although Willig was a tiny bit squirrely, it was only a tiny bit, so I merrily made my way towards fence 1, which he tried to refuse, and then popped from a walky-stop thing, shooting me out of the stirrups but back onto his back, and I only just barely got them on again for fence 2. This was a course with a lot of "tight" turns (for airplane carrier manuverability Willig), so then we may or may not have had a run-out at the last second at 3, and then definitely a run out at 4, where I didn't yank the opposite way, but got him right back in front of the fence and beat him while he tried to jump it from a halt, and then I felt sorry for him and turned around and he jumped 4-9 fine.
But the xc course had the teeniest, tiniest ditch (it was disguised behind a ground pole), and show jumping plus the "ditch", plus then warm-up for xc (Willig started bucking when he landed) got my nerves all a twitter. And so, for the part I was the nerviest about, Willig was a champ. He tried to stop at fence 2 (I chose the direct, taller route - using the very precise leg/crotch measuring system both fences 2 and '10' were novice height), and I had vacillated whether to go there at the 2nd fence. I decided to becuase a) I saw Zoe being scared of the jump judges at the long route, b) fence '10' was even bigger, and c) the taller alternate was hemmed in so it was harder to run-out. So he did one of his walky-jumps, but after that was a total, absolute rock star, who utterly redeemed himself from his show jumping hijinks.
We only came in #14 (out of 24) at the end, but for Willig's first go Beginner Novice? I'm pretty stoked. I'm not sure it's worth it to ride recognized this year, but I think we'll be ready for sure next season.
By the by, when I was riding yesterday to get ready, I tried to think of the most scary way we could ride. I took him straight outside and worked only at poodle side until a nasty downpour made us run for the indoor. And a lot of our home fences are 2'11" now, and I just want to point out (to myself) - from last year to this year? HUGE PROGRESS. That's huge. Amazing. I didn't think we'd make it how last year was going.
So now it's just going back and refocusing on WHY he refuses the show jumps and how to stop those last minute run-outs. I suspect they're only last minute to me - that someone on the ground can see them coming a few strides out.