The video is very helpful to see!
Like all things with horses, there is not just one issue going on, and the various issues are all inter-related.
To address the specific issue of time taken on course and to eliminate the time fault issue:
Time taken on course involves
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pace (rate of speed) and
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track (the path you follow)
It’s often overlooked that the rate of speed which on which time allowed is computed is faster than the canter that most people normally school in on the flat, or even when they are jumping at home and in the typically crowded horse show warm-up area.
In order for your horse to be rideable at a faster rate of speed, you need be able to work at that faster pace on an everyday basis, i.e. it should be an ordinary working gait for both you, and your horse. It takes fitness (mental as well as physical) on the part of both horse and rider to be able to do that.
“A faster pace” has a couple of different components:
a) tempo
b) length of stride
You need to spend time at home working with your horse on the flat, and then over rails and little jumps, in your comfort zone at first, but then pushing the envelope in all directions on both those components till you have developed quite a lot of elasticity, which involves ensuring that your horse responds to you promptly, whether you want to go or stop.
As it is, it looks like he’s a little slow to respond to either wish* (sending you an exercise to help with this via PM)–you have to drop his mouth to get him to go, then he goes too much and gets heavy when you need him to come back–neither of you are particularly free to concentrate on jumping the actual jumps or what comes next; though he seems to have plenty of scope to make up for that at this height, you are feeling the consequence of these shortcomings when you try to go bigger. Stay at this height till you get it worked out–then, if all else goes well you’ll be able to go right up the levels after that.
With a more rideable horse, you’ll be able to take the short routes, and you’ll also realize that the shorter turns can help you force the issue of lightness and control–but it won’t be an experiment you need to perform under competition conditions if you have already tested it working at home over rails, cavaletti and small jumps. Get your horse so you can gallop fast at home and still stay light in your hand even over jumps.
When you think you have it right, take some time to measure out a track at home, with jumps (they don’t have to be competition height), figure out what the time allowed should be, and have someone run a stopwatch while you jump it. You’ll see then what progress you’ve made in tackling the problem, without spending money to compete and get no ribbon. Once you have internalized what it feels like to be at a competition pace, and you’ve gotten your horse to be rideable at that pace, you should have the issue of time faults solved.
