Duke says, "hold my beer" during our jump lesson

It is really smoky from all the fires, and yesterday Duke was a little bit of a spitfire when I rode him - he was rideable - and like Charlie in some ways easier to ride - but he was looking for something to be upset about, like a car door shutting or motion somewhere that my mere human eyes couldn't see.  He did his job, but he did it with essentially a clenched jaw.
So I wondered how he would do today jumping, and it was sort of a couple steps back - he took the bit and charged at the fences and I meekly went along for the ride, but also kind of a step forward - because I knew he would do ok if I screwed up and meekly went along for the ride.
Meekly isn't quite the right word, timid maybe is?  I didn't want to overdo it on the half halts, especially in the combinations, so I did them half-hearted.  And Duke was like "look, if you're not going to be the boss, then I am" and did it his way which is flashy but not elegant, I think.
This is not the most flattering description of my riding (nor should it be), but the eureka was that I was ok with it.  Duke's been with me three months now, and I feel like I'm starting to speak the same language as him most of the time.  He's listening to me, he's just a six year old frat boy who sometimes wants to show off a bit.  And he's athletic enough he can do that.  Now, I wouldn't want him to get it in his head he should do this all the time, but every once in a while, it's ok.  I think that's part of what I liked so much about today, he was saucy, but sweet and manageable, and I always did have a soft spot for hot horses.
We shared our lesson with a very polite teenager - I am always surprised when I meet a polite young teenager - whose horse reminded me of Charlie in his approach to fences, so of course I spent part of the drive home bawling.
John started us over a cross rail, and then he turned it into a vertical and then raised it.  We started going right, and then changed directions and rode it "downhill" and to the left.  Starting, I had to work pretty hard on keeping my left leg on, but as the lesson went on, I didn't feel like I needed to use it quite so dramatically.
From there, John gave us a course.  We rode a yellow vertical with a right hand turn (360 degrees) to the red oxer from last week, with the "hard" (17 meter) left turn to the three black and white fences - an oxer, 4 strides, a vertical, 1 stride, an oxer - then a right turn to a gate and then a "hard" right (not really, so long as you looked at it in the air over the gate) to the final oxer.
Duke was not quite as calm as last week, but it was more fences, and it was a good lesson for me to get that I need to really sit up and give him half halts to rebalance him uphill, not just wish he would do them on his own.  He listens, it sometimes takes me a few strides, but that means I need to feel it coming and hop on them right after the fence.
Also, he had to take over when I overshot the line to the fence - he didn't just do it willy nilly.
I was very happy with the lesson because I felt like it kind of gelled the last few lessons and I just felt like I clicked with Duke and got him and he got me.  We weren't doing our prettiest riding, but I felt like I understood him, and that mattered more than riding perfectly.
John said for show prep, ride him dressage the day before (not a day off) and then reiterated it is a hack the day after (Monday) and his day off is the next day (Tuesday).
We walked around the cross country field (to the water and back) to cool off, and then it was (sigh) dark driving home.  At only 8:30.