Independent aids

We had an amazing lesson today (on Christmas, which was nice for me because it was so quiet at Caber).  John had me start by getting Duke round in the walk, then we went up to trot, then we worked on crossing his front legs over and making the circle smaller.  This was outside leg up next to his shoulder (to push it in), inside leg a little bit back (to keep him from collapsing in), outside hand in kind of a half halt, and inside hand a bit of an open rein.  The bend was to the outside, until we got his legs consistently crossing over, then we slowly bent him back to the inside, and then did a leg yield back out to the full size circle.  This was really delicate maneuvering - I had to keep a feel for where the shoulders were in space, and then use my outside leg as soon as he tried to stop crossing over.  We did this both ways, and then we did it in the canter too, but in the canter, he needed more half halts for balance and control (he kind of wanted to zing around the circle really fast instead of bunching up), and then the feeling was of his front leg crossing under the center of himself, not over.
We had a couple of good trot to canter transitions, although not great, and moderate canter to trot transitions.  John said that we make it right to the end and then Duke pauses in the contact a bit, I let go, and he collapses.  He said it is just one more tiny aid, and then we'll have it.
For the canter, there is a lot of keeping my seat down and my hips moving.  I do ok until I am thinking about each hand and each leg, and then I forget to ride with my seat, and things kind of stall. But especially with the trot to canter transition, if I have him properly bent, round, and with enough impulsion, and I do both legs, my seat bone, and then hips hips hips, we tend to get a pretty nice transition.
After that, we worked just a bit on the stretchy trot, and here, John wanted me to stretch him off of my legs (holding my hands up and pushing him down, not pulling his head down with my hands), which I thought went really well.  For this one, John said his nose needs to tilt just a bit to the inside, but he said not to work on this one too much at home by myself because I'll get frustrated.
My theory is that John taught me the aids, but I couldn't really apply them properly until I got my hands (and legs) more independent.  They're not there yet, but they have improved this month, and I feel like that was a big hurdle in a lot of this.  When I use my left hand, my right hand mimics it (and vice versa) and a lot of these movements are so delicate that it gets lost if I am sloppy and using both hands.  He needs a half halt on the outside and a squeeze (or a give) on the inside, and that is a very different aid than both hands half halting.
I thought Duke did really well.  Although when I got home, I turned him out, and for the third time, the little shit ran away from me when it was time to come in.  Even though it was dinner time.  He didn't carry on like a maniac, but I left him out there while I fed the back horses, and then he let me catch him right away.

Next year's goal is working on "feel"

John told me my goal for next year, regardless of competition schedule, is to work on "feel".  And by feel, he means recognizing, responding, and reacting to Duke's change in movements.  So he might be going around a circle, and then bulge his shoulder out, and so my job is to work on feeling that his shoulder is bulging and then using the appropriate aid to react.
For today, we worked on getting Duke more round and connected in all three gaits and the transitions between canter and trot.  This was, like our prior lessons, an opportunity for John to tell me the aids at the appropriate moment, so I could feel the response, which is - still frustratingly - pretty impossible for me to articulate.  I don't know if I'm not going to "get" it until I can explain it, or if it is because it is about feel, and so can't really be written down.
We worked on the 20 meter circle, then on 10 meter circles with changes in direction.  For transitions, my goal was not to move my hands or let Duke go above or below the bit.  Then John had me lengthen his canter with my hips, and then bring him back without pulling back on the reins.  Duke did all of this really well.
Even with not being ridden much this week, he was really a trooper and tried hard to figure out what I was asking and then do it.  He is a fun horse to ride.

Forward progress on our connection work

John broke his arm last week, so we skipped our jumping lesson (and will skip it again next week while he's getting his cast on).  Because I couldn't ride the Friday before my lesson, I rode flat instead of jumping.  This works out well, I think, so that Duke will get at least two weeks off without jumping, but maybe not get the month off in January.
We worked on 20 meter circles, with John standing in one place on the outside, instead of in the center of the circle. Possibly, John didn't have to give me quite as many moment-by-moment instructions (although that might have been because he wasn't feeling great and not my amazing riding skills improving).
I managed to do better at connecting inside leg to outside hand, timing the counter bend when he was stiff, and making our transitions a bit more connected and less above the bit.
It was, like all of these posts, much, much harder than that, but I'm really struggling with how to put it into words instead of feelings.  I felt like this week riding him, we did a little better than we had been, but less good than the first few days after John rode him.

World's best left trot (starry eyes)

John said that MAYBE next year we can do 1/2:1/2 at the shows, where he rides Duke then I ride him.  He said we'll see, but that the downside is he'd turn Duke into the type of horse he'd like to ride, and then have to ride him all season.  That actually probably wouldn't be too bad with the new job.
He said that to ride prelim, I have to join USEF. Which means I have to watch their videos.
He said that if I'm buying Duke a new girth, get him one with a belly guard, just to avoid injuries.
And then for the lesson.  Duke moved great, and he felt amazing.  I could feel when he softened and bent and started using his topline.  He seems to want me to use the upper part of my calf to squeeze and then keep him from moving away from my leg by using the outside hand in a little bit of a reciprocal squeeze.
We worked on 10 meter circles, where John had me counterbend, then cross his front legs (so he was moving towards John) and then allow the correct bend, and then, without changing anything, to leg yield back out to a 15 meter circle.  He picked up the canter on the 10 meter circles, and we had some decent (not amazing) canter/trot transitions.
But it was the lifting up and using his back that was just so amazing, like the left trot was just so amazing to feel that I had trouble listening to John for a little while and just wanted to ride around and around doing it.
For the canter, I didn't think cross his legs, but have his outside leg come under the center of his body (front leg).
Duke was sweet and obedient during the lesson, but when I went to get him in his pasture this morning, he ran away from me and acted like it was because he's so attached to Ellie.  That annoyed me.
I felt like I rode this better and more consistently than some of our prior lessons, but I still need John's help with each specific aid (outside leg back and on now-now-now) to get Duke to respond correctly, and I can feel it when he does, but I'm still struggling to put it into words in this summary.
Christa told me that John is harder on his upper level students and expects more, and I think that's what's going on.  He's taken it up a notch and it's all new to me so I'm struggling to keep up.  But if this goes like his other lessons, eventually I'll make it rote and then we'll work on the next thing.

Duke spent a week with John

And now he's a fine-tuned machine instead of a dull blade.  It was really impressive.
Duke is a good communicator, so I could feel how he wanted me to ride him, with my upper calf instead of squeezing my whole leg, slightly tilted forward on my seat bones, and hands out of his mouth.  Duke carried his own head (and didn't wiggle it around), balanced himself, stepped more underneath himself at the walk, and was well balanced and forward at both the trot and canter.  When I got everything just right, he would also lift up his back, so I could wrap around him.
He was, however, also sensitive, so if I jerked around, or lurched, or pulled on his face with my hand, he'd brace himself and stiffen his neck to protect himself.
We did some work on the flat, and then went over the middle fence (without the three cavalleti).  It was nice to watch a couple of his other students first, to see that I'm not the only one who is having a hard time making the bending line.
John said that Duke tries hard, and that he gave one lesson sitting on him, to teach him about standing still.  He said he thinks Jane might have done that too, cocked a hip and put the reins in one hand, but that Duke was really good about it.
He said that Duke has a good personality, and sometimes powers up, and that twice John missed the jump, and so Duke was like "look, dude, I got this".
He also said that he thinks Duke knows when he's got it right, and expects to end.  He said they were working on shoulder-in, and when Duke finally got it, he was all like "ok, let's get out of here."
He said that Duke can't be manhandled or overpowered into doing something - that he has to be convinced he wants to do it, although he does want to please.
And he also said I've gotten good at - well, better at - riding him balanced.
I was thinking about it, and compared to last year, I think we've both improved, which is good.  I don't think John has ridden him in about a year, so it was good for John to feel what I've done with him on my own (although he can also see it from the ground).  Since I always think I'm going to ruin a horse, this was good news as well.
But what was most amazing was how good and sensitive and forward Duke felt.  It was just amazing that John could make him so fine-tuned, and that I can squish it out of him.  It's a good standard to have felt, so that I can expect more and ask more of him, and be aware of how well he can move, but I need to be more precise with my aids and balanced.
We both agreed that a light bulb went off for Duke maybe three weeks ago about balancing on those 10 meter circles, and that it helped quite a bit.