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."
Royal Canadian Mounted Police still ride horses everywhere -- why the heck can't ordinary Canadian citizens?
The plain answer to your question is yes. A business owner has the right to refuse service to anyone. "No shirt, no shoes, no service". That's fair. Kicking someone off your premises for being under the influence, or belligerent. Absolutely. Shoplifter banned for life? Well no kidding.
We're talking about someone riding a horse to get around. Why would a business owner be so stupid as to possibly alienate his/her customer base over something so innocent? Of course this is Nova Scotia. They don't have the ACLU breathing down their necks.
That's the point that I apparently didn't make. A business that wants to stay profitable will make small allowances to generate goodwill and word of mouth business.
I think something else is going on that we don't know about.
It should be the owners right to be stupid on his property.
We shouldn't have the right to force "good business practices" on another.
When others become the judges of what a good business practice is or isnt for someone else, then the private property owner loses freedom.
As one is free to practice, what you and I deem a good business practice, one should be free to practice what we deem a bad business practice as well.
As for me, I'd let the horse in. I love horses. But, I don't own that property, so I don't have any say so.
Exactly. I don't see what the big deal is.
Is this the same guy who took his horse through a car wash?
One ambiguity - although the article says that a protection of property notice was served against the Coffee Cowboy, it doesn't say that the Tim Horton's filed the charges. This could just be (and probably is) sloppy reporting, but if the actions against him are being brought exclusively by the govermental authorities, he has my sympathy. If the Tim Horton's wants him off their property, OTOH, it's their perfect right to bar him.
Horses still have the right of way in California.
They are considered a "mode of transportation".
I used to go to the Jack in the Bos (?) at the top of Tampa Ave near Porter Ranch in San Fernando Valley with my horse and with other riders. Would get drinks, etc, and dsit outside with horses and consume. If droppings occurred, I would place in dumpster and clean up.
LOTS of kids would come up and pet the horses. most of those kids have NEVER been that close to a horse before or since. Really sad.
If they are serving him and then calling the cops, shame on them.
Mare in season NOT the problem. Any stallion nearby might be problem. I have 3. Ride them any time I wish. In season or not.
What does "double double" mean in Canada?
I saw the headline and thought, In-N-Out Burger, in California - a double cheeseburger.
Double cream, double sugar.
True...I hear ya, used to live on an farm in Ky...."Sheties", and quarters. :)
That's it! I'm movin' to Utah!
Cripes, when I owned my horse, I rode him all over town. We even had a group trail ride to the drugstore once, just because. Everyone got a kick out of it. There weren't any problems.
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