Posted on 08/21/2004 6:27:32 AM PDT by Loyalist
HALIFAX -- Robert Chetwynd's eccentric behaviour -- including trips through the local Tim Hortons drive-through on a horse -- has earned him the nickname Coffee Cowboy.
The Barrington Passage, N.S., resident says he has spent $7,000 so far in legal fees to defend what he asserts was his right to take his horse anywhere he pleased: on the road, to store parking lots, to fast-food takeout windows.
The 35-year-old lobster fisherman and part-time carpenter made headlines last year when he refused to stop riding his chestnut quarter horse through the town's drive-through.
He says that the horse, which authorities have seized, had been his only mode of transportation after losing his driver's licence four years ago for impaired driving and driving without insurance.
Mr. Chetwynd pleaded guilty in Provincial Court this week to a number of charges, including public mischief, stemming from incidents in May 2003 after he was served with a protection of property notice that barred him from visiting the coffee shop.
He is scheduled to appear in court in October for sentencing and to set a trial date for other charges, including cruelty to animals, something he vehemently denies.
"I've always loved horses," he said. "Once I trained him, he was superb transportation. It's easier than riding a bicycle. I could do handstands in the saddle. But now my saddle is all waxed and waiting and just sitting in the tack room. It's disgusting. I've got to see him again."
Tim Hortons complained to police last year that Mr. Chetwynd tied his horse to utility poles and parked cars in the handicapped spot.
The restaurant also said he was allowing his horse to defecate in the parking lot.
The Coffee Cowboy says he has always cleaned up after his horse, using a large piece of cardboard to scoop, and dumping the whole mess into the closest recycling bin.
Mr. Chetwynd, who maintains his own website and is a bit sketchy on timelines and some details of his tussles with the authorities, says he feels like the world's most picked-upon man.
"The first time I approached Tim Hortons they told me it wasn't okay," he said yesterday in an interview. "They told me stay away and they took me to court and charged me with trespassing. I wouldn't stop taking him, though. I took him at least 60 times. That's right. It's malarkey that I can't do it. The horse has got to have the right of way.
"But they served me every time. They never refused me once. They'd serve me and then call the cops. It wasn't the workers; it was the management."
Last summer he spent several weeks in jail on two separate occasions for breaching probation and going back to Tim Hortons on horseback. He always ordered a large coffee, double-double, and an oatcake. The staff always gave him free Timbits for Dillon, he added.
"It's certainly in the top 10 of the strangest cases I've ever taken on," lawyer Phil Starr said. "We've got some very unique issues to deal with."
Mr. Chetwynd purchased Dillon for $2,500 a couple of years ago from a horse trader in Shelburne County, after he lost his licence and could no longer drive his 1973 Cadillac.
Last year the Mounties took Dillon from his owner. Asked about his beloved horse's whereabouts, Mr. Chetwynd paused dramatically and said: "I'm not prepared to discuss his whereabouts. But I'm very disappointed they took my horse away. I have not seen him."
He said that he has been served in the McDonald's drive-through and tied Dillon in the hardware and grocery store parking lots. And that there is plenty of community support for his predicament. People send him songs and poetry.
"I think people like to see a man on a well-trained horse," he said. "They should leave me alone and give me and my horse some peace where peace is deserved."
You just never know what you'll find posted at FR.
Nearest recycling bin? The DPW guys must love him.
If they don't want a horse on their private property, who's to say they should be forced to accept it?
Of course this guy is a psycho, and of course the restaurant has every right to forbid him from bringing his horse onto their property. But I truly don't understand what their issue is. If they treated the situation with good humor they could get some excellent publicity out of it.
These people had better check the driver's training manual in Halifax. I'll bet horses have the right of way. They still have laws about giving way to sheep drovers in Massachusetts.
I vote for the cowboy.
ping
Why can't the guy ride his horse and take care of business? Too bad the website doesn't have an email address for contact. This guy is getting screwed.
How about a beat up old car? Should business establishments ban those too? That horse looks better than some of the cars I've had to drive.
It should be his right to forbid anything he wants on his private property.
Even if a private property owner doesn't want you driving a red car on his property, it should be is right to forbid it.
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I would call a newspaper photographer - they are often wandering around looking for "human interest" pictures. My son has been in several.
But as this is described in the article, this seems to fall under a "service animal" description. In fact, I remember seeing on the NGC a small horse being used as a guide "dog".
How completely ridiculous. Horse poop is easier to get rid of than oil leaks. Horses don't cause damage to other cars on the property, 'ie' dents in doors from parking too close, etc. This is a personal problem between the management and the owner of the horse. In fact, I'm willing to bet that it goes a little farther than that.
If Tim Hortons doesn't want this man's money, perhaps they don't want the rest of the customers money either.
Whether it's easier to clean or not isn't the question.
The question is Does a private property owner have the right to restrict who comes on his property?
Are there really neglect or cruelty charges here Loyalist, or is this really just about the drive-thrus?
I'll be LIVID if there is no cause to seize the animal for abuse.
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