We just had an eventful hack. Sid was very forward, he obviously remembered our fast hack earlier in the week! He was looking for an excuse to trot all the time. However he was very calm when we tried the little sunken road
https://www.newrider.com/threads/jumpies.259635/post-3177452 . We followed
@newforest 's suggestion and did it in walk first and he plodded down, plodded up and walked over the log.
Then, almost immediately after, a young Border Collie rounded a corner ahead of us, saw Sid and flew at him, barking fit to wake the dead. He circled us barking and rushing at Sid's feet. Sid is really, really good with dogs, but even he was getting restive. A little doodle sort of dog with the collie also started to bark and rush. The owners, a young couple, appeared and ran towards us calling ineffectually, "Kai, Kai, come!" but Kai didn't even know they existed. Neither of them had a lead or seemed to have the sense to grab the collie's collar. He ran at Sid's heels and Sid actually kicked out (and I don't blame him). At this the woman said, "Kai, come away or you'll be kicked," which worked just as well as anything else she said. In the end she and her chap turned and ran away, calling over their shoulders, and that did eventually work. I shouted after them, "If your dog won't come when you call it you should keep it on a bloody lead," but I was busy making much of Sid, who gets the Calm Brave Horse of the Year award in my book. All this time he had stood there with his ears locked backwards on me, listening to me as I reassured him and kept him still. What an amazing cob.
We carried on and a little later met a young lady on one of the racehorses from Brook. She was heading where we had been so I warned her about the collie. She said grimly, "If he tries that with this mare he'll be in orbit!" and headed on up the gallop. Sid really wanted to follow the mare, especially when she went in to canter, but he stayed with me, just.
On the way back we went over the sunken road from the other direction (log first). Sid walked over the log, said, "Oh ho, I know what you want. This is how you do it!" and hopped down onto the track, changed his feet at the bottom and jumped cleanly up the other side, followed by a pleased with himself canter-away. I was busy recovering from the jump - I didn't realise how fast this would happen, and I was still descending towards his back after the drop when his back rose up again to meet me. Ouch! He didn't seem to mind my cack-arsedness, though.
We strolled home on the buckle. He was chilled after his little jump and canter and stretched mightily and snorted long satisfied snorts. I told him he was a Good Boy.
. 
