Aspen derby

We had amazing weather (80!) and so I didn't warm Charlie up much so he wouldn't overheat.  Our first round, we had a disappointing rail down and run out, but it was actually quite good because:
1)  the course was far more technical than what we've been doing (fence 2 was a hard right to a long line to fence 3; fence 4 was several strides to an up bank/down bank which depending on where you jumped in and how you bent the line, was a 2 1/2 or 3 stride; then a downhill canter to a very hard right over a very big table, then a log one stride water, up bank out of the water, one stride, show jumping fence, hard left; but the one we had a rail down was a vertical show jump at an angle to a corner; then a hard left to a line with an oxer and vertical slightly off set.
The good news is that I could feel things coming up and had time to think.
The bad news is of course the rail down and run out despite that.
On the second round, we did better, but the second to last fence Charlie jumped in funny so I slid the reins, then couldn't get them back in time, so I pulled my elbows back and stood up over the last fence and then Charlie's right bell boot came sailing past over the top of our heads.  Charlie and I both looked at it and I yelled "woo!" as it passed us.
I'm pretty happy with it.  I could feel what I was doing and was thinking for myself while things were happening!  Not fast enough to fix them, but fast enough to feel them a stride or two out.  That's progress, I think.