No kidding. That's what the dressage judge wrote on our first test.

I just about choked when I read that, mostly because we had just been eliminated from show jumping portion, which actually went better than expected, but he was the antithesis of 'willing and obedient'.

The dressage scores were good -- mostly 6 and 7, with a couple of 5 - overall 58%, which isn't bad for a first effort. He's done about 60% in all his previous tests with his old owner and now I know what we have to work on for next time.

The jump ring... well... as usual, he took one look at each jump and flat out refused with his usual "I'm not going anywhere near that scary object and you can't make me!". Of course, these are all rank beginner jumps that he could, quite frankly, walk over, but, again, we have to find some starting point to work from.

So, our first show really went better than I expected, since I wasn't sure I'd be able to get him over a trot pole, but we did do the warm-up jumps, which were higher than the actual stadium jumps. He, of course, refused them, but we got over, and each time he jumped a little smoother, a little more gracefully, a little more confidently. We did actually go over the first two jumps, albeit with his usual explosive leap that would have cleared the fence around his paddock and I was very grateful for the new piece of equipment, a Y-strap on his chest, that is very easy to grab and far more secure than his mane. and virtually guarantees that I won't accidently yank on his mouth. The running martingale should really be called a no-running-away martingale, and greatly helped me gently get his head back down and something approaching calm, as he, as usual, took off into the wild blue yonder after each jump.

As soon as we were eliminated, I went straight back to the warm-up ring and cleared the big oxer there, just so we could finish on a positive note.

Then I read the dressage judge's comment. At first I was taken aback, because, I see Oakley as he has been over the past 10 months, a dominant, pushy, but spooky and flighty horse who challenged me every day and argued more often than not.

But gradually a nice, warm feeling started to spread deep down inside, because, I realized, the dressage judge saw and knew none of that. She only saw the result of all that careful work. And now so can I.