Duke's first cross country (with me and John)

Next weekend is the Chehalis Valley Pony Club derby at Caber, so we had a cross country lesson today.  John had us warm up (solo) and then meet him in the field.  He watched us do just a little bit of trot and canter, and then started over a little coop.  Duke sailed right over it.  And by sailed, I mean as if a wind caught him and blew him gustily on the far side.
So next we curved just inside a prelim log and made a right hand turn to a slightly bigger coop.  Sailed again.  John said for that one, he wanted to see if Duke would use the opportunity to run out to the left, and he was pleased that he did not.
So then we went to the bank side and did a log.  Fine.  Then a small table.  Fine.  Then the log to the small table.  Wooo, the wind picked up!  But that was partly because Duke likes to land on the right lead, and I was trying to bend him (in a big arc) around on the wrong lead.  We did it again and I did a change of lead through the trot, and it made a huge difference.
John said that he liked that I lined Duke up and then got out of the way.  I didn't try to make him chip in to the fence, but let him pick the spot.
Then we went to the back field and did a coop, around in between a tree and some shrubs, a tiny bench, around to another tiny bench.  Duke zig zagged approaching the tree and shrubs, but it tightened him up for the tiny bench.  John said I was using a lot of hand on the way to the final fence, but that it was ok because we had a nice even rhythm to the canter.
So then we ended cantering over the novice ditch, which Duke hardly looked at.
He gets increasingly wound up as the fences connect, but he comes back well, and John really liked that although he drifts to the left, he is honest and goes over the fence.  He said he is "excited" about him, and that probably later in the season (EI/Spokane) we'll be ready for Novice; maybe even for Caber.
Katy came out and left, and he got hoppity after that, and John said I'll need to hang loose and be the opposite of how I was with Charlie.  I need to let him know it's cool, he can settle down and chill.
He also said that the long format at Spokane isn't the best choice for what he needs right now; as a tb, he's bred to go fast, and could probably cruise at 500 mpm no problem.  So he doesn't need the conditioning or steeplechase work, he needs to learn to settle down between fences.  Similarly, I can't pull him in too tight a turn, because he'll just bend down and tear through it, unlike Charlie, who would slow down.
He said he'll probably be the type of horse who wants to gun for him, once he knows the route, so I'll need to meander and circle and reward him when he takes a breath and chews and let him know it's ok, he can relax.
Then we talked about his balance in the canter.  John said he's kind of tense, so he might just need some time to relax.  He has a horse that takes 55 minutes.  John said Duke seems to him like the kind of horse who is comfortable on the edge.  But he said to also try bending to the outside, and then bending him back in.
I also told him about Kelly asking who was giving my lessons and saying I basically looked like an entirely different rider than I did five years ago. It was really nice, and a big compliment to John's teaching.