The Great White (and Fawn Brindle) Hope

I have been working with Patriot much more in obedience, taking him to a local class on occasion.  I should be taking him to class more often because I saw that he could use more proofing even though practice at home has been improving.  He is great at heeling and has a good, though not immediate, drop on recall.  Main issue is lack of confidence/desire on retrieves and stepping on the boards (only at trials) on the broad jump.  He will also sometimes go down on the long sit.  I have been working on increasing the desire for the dumbbell.  I see improvements but can’t throw too far at the trial.  Not sure what to do about the broad jump except use different boards and take him to class and put some pressure on him.  He is a much slower learner than Wyatt but a much more confident dog.  So when he “gets it”, he is much more likely to perform in the trial setting.  We are entered in Open A in March.  I have Wyatt entered too but more for fun at least point with something like 15-20 NQs in Open A.