Jumping with John - outside on a Friday April evening!

We had divine spring weather today, so although I had to tear like a bat out of hell to get to John's by 6:15 (he wanted to start at 6), it was worth it.
We started on a 20 meter and 15 meter circle around a fence, and John worked on the same attempt to get Charlie round and forward as in our last lessons, but Charlie was like riding a hunk of wood today.  We worked for a while to the left, and when we switched and went right, he felt a little off to me.  John didn't say anything, but I want to watch that because we have a jam-packed weekend.
This was to bend him - either way, outside or inside - then to keep the contact and move him forward.  Half halt, then move forward again.  Sounds simple, but it is crazy hard to separate my legs and hands and use them independently, let alone at the right time.  When I got it right, I could feel the balance and lift in Charlie's shoulders, but it was pretty hard to do today and would have been entirely impossible on my own.
We had some really lousy down transitions from canter to trot, and I had to use the whip quite a bit.  I got really clingy with my right leg, and John had to keep telling me to put that heel down.
This is definitely where I need more help, because although I've worked on it now a few times with John, I don't think to do a lot of the movements myself, and I can't always match them with a change in Charlie's feeling right away, like on some of the easier stuff.
After that, we jumped - a couple times over a cross rail and vertical, then we did a short course which was a 5 stride angled line oxer to vertical, right hand turn, 5 stride bending line oxer to vertical, left hand turn, roll top. 
John said that I am using my rein (inside rein, mostly right one) too much to turn, instead of using outside leg and outside rein.  And Charlie was very reluctant to bend either way, like a stiff board that didn't want to go forward.  It wasn't our greatest day.
Charlie was NOT getting his leads, but he did, at least twice, correct it with only the littlest aid from me, so that was pretty cool.  Maybe his back is getting a little stronger?
We have Pony Club jump lesson tomorrow, then Major Beale, then Pony Club D2/D3 rating on Sunday morning, then Major Beale, then John again Monday night.  Then a week off.
I'm hoping he isn't lame, and it isn't my fault for the conditioning.  We are up to 6 trot/1 walk/6 canter/2 walk/2 canter (450 mpm)/2 walk/6 trot/1 walk/6 canter, and he was really huffing and puffing in the gallop work (with one fence) last week.  I think part of it is the preference for the right canter lead - he'll go around at a horrible cross firing gallop instead of just fixing it.