Most excellent jump lesson

Although Duke was a little bit short from his recent shoeing, he wasn't off, and we had a great jump lesson.  John started us over a little cross rail, and had us focus on not rushing towards the fence.  After doing it a couple times, he turned it into a vertical and gradually started to raise it.  What I had to focus on was looking past it and not, just before the fence, suddenly rushing at it just because it was bigger.  John used a ground pole to help (which he rolled out as the fence got higher), and Duke did an excellent job staying cool and calm, despite the height increase.  Sometimes after we landed, we'd have to circle once to get him back to being soft in his jaw, but he did not do the land on the forehand and shoot off like we did our first few weeks together.  There was still a hard drift left, and John says we'll work on that all winter.
We did this fence at the beginning both directions, but as John raised the height, he had us go just to the left.  He said that was because if he had us switch directions, I spend most of the time thinking about landing on the correct lead or fixing it, instead of just focusing on the fence.
Next we did a white oxer, landing to the right.  For this one, I did the same thing at the start - it looked so much bigger so I'd try to barrel towards it, but Duke did a nice job teaching me by responding if I rode it properly, for instant reward.  If I didn't get all clambery right before the fence, he jumped it smooth and easy.  If I pulled on his face or kicked him, it was a bit more scrambley.  He had no problem jumping it, and after our jump lesson last week, when I couldn't get the angle right, but Duke showed me he could go over it anyway, it helped me relax (just like John said) to know we could get over it even if I came in badly.  For this one, John put a ground pole on the far side on the left, rolled in just a bit, to help with Duke's drift.
From there, we went over to a slightly bending line, which was a black and white oxer, 4 strides, black and white vertical, one stride, black and white oxer.  I think the first time (and last time) through were the best, but as it turns out it was just luck the first time.
After riding it nice and smooth, the second time through I didn't half halt on the way in, so we barreled down the four strides, Duke had to leap in over the vertical, and then I'm pretty sure he did one of those superman leaps with his front legs straight out in front of him to get over the oxer.  John said for this, it was a lesson in how important it is to set up ahead of time, not wait until we're part way through.
But instead of letting me ride that line over and over (like I would have done), he added in a red and white oxer with what I called a roll back (he says a roll back is 10 meter circle, and this was more like 17 meters) left turn to the start of the black and white oxer.
The first time, we came in weak to the red and white; Duke started to drift left, and instead of putting my left leg on, I just sat and waited for disaster.  But Duke got over it, and to my surprise, instead of having us start over, John had us make a circle and keep going.  I think that was maybe the best time through the line.  We were both so surprised we rode it spot on.
Then we struggled with it a bit the next two times; John said that I was trying to turn too quickly, and showed me where the straight line after the oxer ended and the turn began.  I got to that point, but then reeled Duke around on the wrong lead, so that kind of flubbed the next one.  But we sort of launched in, and then half halted on the four strides, and Duke once again got out ok.
The last time through, when I had a better feel for how much space we had (the 17 meter circle really was much bigger than it looked), we were still on the wrong lead, but I was more comfortable with the time and space I had to fix it, and then we were off on the first oxer, but we waited for it instead of launching, which meant I didn't have to do as much half halt on the line.
Duke worked his little heart out, even with what I think was sore feet (and yet another cut on his leg that the boot rubbed and it bled), and just to think back even just a month, as John pointed out, we couldn't have adjusted just a couple strides before the fence.  John also said the fences are bigger than Novice height.
He asked how the show went and if we had any trouble (other than me running over his stock water tank in the haul-in), and I told him for dressage I thought I just did too much warm up, too long a break, and then not enough time to re-warm up.  He said 30 minutes wasn't so long, but Duke might not be a horse who wants to cool down/warm back up again.  And then I said for the rail down in show jumping, I just didn't get him uphill enough between the two fences.  Overall, I was very happy with how he did.
John said for recovery, do the light work the day after the show, then give him the day off the next day (so Monday light work, Tuesday day off).  That way, you can feel if there's anything off the day after.
And - happy day - Ashley said they are going to three shows in California this fall and for one (Galway?) trying to have a novice team.  I think it would be a great trial run (like Charlie and I did with Rebecca) to go ahead down there for Novice and then next year go for Training level.