Training work with John

I had a lesson with John following Caber.  He got to see show jumping, and I described the three fences that felt awkward from cross country (how to jump the down bank on the C curve - I had done it correctly*; the puke over the big table; and the chip on the narrow skinny).  The puke on the big table was because we were coming fast out of the woods downhill and then streaking across the pasture, so I didn't balance him but just launched at it.  This was true.  He said about 10 strides out to sit up and rebalance when you have a situation like that.
*Correctly was a C curve, but with a flat part to make the bank perpendicular.  Although you can ride a down bank at an angle, John doesn't think it's fair to the horses depending on which is their dominant eye (one will see the bank and water, the other will see the ground).
The chip on the skinny was because I tried to half halt and make a hard right turn at the same time (doing two things at once is still beyond my skill set) so I probably lost all impulsion and didn't have enough room to pick it up again.
That is what we worked on during the lesson because it was the same thing that caused the one rail down during show jumping.
John had some of the same fences set up - still huge, and we worked on making hard turns - 10 meter circles basically - while keeping forward.  A lot of this was controlling the outside shoulder.  If I let his shoulder drift out of a tight corner, we didn't hit the take off location correctly, and Charlie had to sproing up over the fence.  I also completely clobbered an oxer with a two stride to a vertical, I rode in looking at how freaking huge the oxer was, so we puked over it, and Charlie ran out on the vertical.
Like every lesson with John, every mistake was a gift, because he explained (and I could feel) what went wrong, how to correct it, and then I rode it again properly.
Much to my amazement, by the end of the lesson we could make hard right and hard left turns off of huge fences and get to the next fence with enough impulsion.
It is easier to ride Charlie over these fences because he brings the impulsion, so I don't have to ride in kicking and smacking and clucking, and can work instead on his balance.  And, because he is actually lifting up, it is so much easier to stay centered and balanced over him.
John said that I need to make sure not to get reliant on schooling a cross country course before I compete, and to just know that I can do it and Charlie can do it if I ride assertively.  The oxer/run-out was perfect for that because I rode it hesitantly, and then I got mad at the run out and rode it assertively, and it was night and day.
He also said that it's going to be tough when people start talking and saying this is all Charlie and not me.  He said Charlie is a great horse for the level I ride at, but I am not just sitting up there.
It was a great lesson - I left with that feeling of having grown as a rider and improving my understanding of the technical side as well, and feeling really positive that if I can keep working with John (and now I know on the flat I can also practice those 10 meter circles), Charlie and I can keep improving.  He is a phenomenal instructor.
John also said to put my foot on the outside of the stirrup bar (particularly the right foot), keep my legs down and long over the fences (I am pinching with my knee), and that someone competitive (like me) gets bored if they ride at too low of a level for too long, and will start slacking off working at home (true).