We have been doing it for 7 months now,he is good on the course loves all the equipment, does all his contacts and weaves lovely, I have no worries about that its just that I am often ahead of him, he walks the dog walk like he has all the time in the world. Will I be able to compete if he is this slow?

7 months isnt long in the great big scheme of things - Ben has been doing it 15 months and he is just only now speeding up
Yes you will be able to compeate - Ben was super slow in our one and only comp, but everyone else faulted so we won!!!
Who do you train with?? your trainer will let you know when you are ready to compeat, and take yourself along to a few shows to see what its all like
You will be surprised, our trainer says that only about 5% of the dogs there are actually ready to be there - so you having a steady dog with good contacts and weaves will be the envy of many people there