Jump lesson outside - with Alina and Freddy

On Friday, we had our first outside jump lesson at Caber for the year, in the gorgeous, warm sunshine. John had us ride with Alina and Freddy. We started by cantering over a cross rail, then we jumped a vertical with what would have been a difficult right turn through two fences but compared to the left turn was a cakewalk. John turned it into an oxer, then made us a few courses. Duke was NOT all grab the bit and go like he was when we first went outside last year, but we also already schooled at Tulip (*real* outside) so maybe it was just the first time out that he gets excited?
First course was uphill over an oxer, left turn to a slightly narrow vertical, left turn to the corner, right turn to angle over a vertical and squirt between it and the uphill oxer. The first time, we kind of flailed over the angled vertical, but the next time Duke cruised it. I asked John to lower the vertical the first time, but he just pretended to.
Then we did oxer, hard left turn (I'd call it a rollback) to angle over a panel, squirt through the hole in the fences to jump a vertical, right hand turn back over the oxer? Again, Duke jumped it great. John said he expected Duke to think that instead of going through the hole, he was supposed to jump the oxer at an insane angle, and so I did a good job rebalancing and focusing him in between the fences.
Last course ended with an angle angle in a two stride from the vertical to the oxer, which I thought was an insane angle and looked impossible, but Duke, again, just cruised it.
Duke was spectacular. Other than the one flail, he got to do each course just once. He's a good little jumper, loves to do it.
This week he's gotten some turn out and we're at six days of easily caught; yesterday he even waited at the fence for me to come get him, and a couple times walked up to me. Yesterday, we went on a walk around the block instead of going on a trail ride, just to get him a change of scenery. He got a little nervous and jigged a couple times, and was a little anxious about the mailboxes, but was a good boy who tried to hold his shit together.