Yesterday's (almost ;-) perfect ride

Sunny and I had a really nice ride yesterday. We started out late, almost 5, but I discovered that that has to be the perfect time to ride because it is cooling down for the evening.
We headed out our drive and made a turn onto our nieghbors lane. Sunny did a perfect sidepass as he tried to convince me that turning toward our neighbors house would be the best thing to do- Sunny knows that he gets a rest and maybe some grass if we talk for awhile. Smart boy. I told him that we would stop by later on our way back, since I had a question to ask her. He kind of pouted, and I asked him why he could execute a dressage test worthy sidepass when he wanted something but not when I asked him to. Needless to say, he ignored me. ;)
We headed down the lane, and it turned out that our neighbor was out walking by her pond and so we stopped and talked for a few minutes. She made the usual compliments on Sunny's behaviour (what a beautiful boy! and so well mannered and good tempered)
Of course, she didn't see him later, when the two most inconsiderate drivers came by. I was furious. It's like if we aren't riding directly on the road, people think it's OK to come zooming by. They were going probably around 75-80 I would guess. Usually I hear vehicles coming and I make a point of stopping Sunny so he is not taken by surprise. But I hadn't heard them coming, and since he expects me to stop him before something passes he was surprised and reared. It took me countless figure eights in the field to calm him down. That was where the almost of the perfect ride comes in. It gets much better!
Later, we passed two pastures with cows in them, and Sunny was as steady as a rock. I was SO proud of him. One place there hadn't been cows out before, so I considered it a good accomplishment. I could tell he saw them, the way he flicked his ears way forward and looked in their direction, but he stayed at a relaxed walk without pausing. Yay! Gold stars to Sunny!
We saw the 2 geese twice in two different fields, but with the corn I could't tell whether their babies were with them or not.
Then on the way back, we had what I had only dreamed about: the perfect foxtrot! Sure, we work on it a lot, and he is doing well and I am gaining feel for it, but I have never had that experience where it just meshes together perfectly. It was AMAZING. It was total oneness, total perfection. I could see our shadow next to us and Sunny's legs were doing exactly what they were supposed to. It was total harmony. I am going to try to describe the feeling based on other equine euphorias I have experienced: it was like the very first jump you go over when the instructor doesn't have anything to criticize. It's like your very first gallop in a field. It was like watching a foal be born. It was like your first perfect flying lead change. Wow is the only word to describe it.
I told him when we were walking again that he could remember that for the show on Saturday. But I doubt that will happen. In my experience, those feelings are almost always something private between just your horse and you, and they rarely happen in a busy arena.