UPDATED: Coffee Cowboy on misplaced mission

By Carla Allen & Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

The coffee cowboy has hit the trail again in a misplaced pursuit of his cause, this time in Yarmouth.

Robert Chetwynd, aka Jell-O Head, says he wants a Barrington Tim Hortons to lift a ban against his use of a rest stop for horses and their riders installed near the business.

But the owner/operator of the franchise, as well as the local RCMP detachment, say there are no bans to prevent Chetwynd from picking up coffee on horseback.

“He’s been using the hitching post down there that we put in,” said owner/operator David Arenburg. “That’s what our staff says.”

He continued, “This is news to us. We have not taken any action there recently.”

The Barrington RCMP say that although Chetwynd is on probation there are no conditions saying he cannot visit the Barrington Tim Hortons.

Chetwynd, a resident of Doctors Cove, has had plenty of exposure to the legal system over the past few years.

He received a court order to stay away from the coffee shop in May 2002. In 2003 Chetwynd and his horse Dillon were seized by the RCMP after he tried to ram a police cruiser when officers tried to arrest him. Chetwynd was pepper sprayed and jailed until his court appearance. That November he faced close to two-dozen Criminal Code charges.

On Friday, the day Chetwynd finished a six-month house arrest, he said he plans on protesting at Yarmouth Tim Hortons with mounted supporters on Saturday and that they may continue to ride up to the Meteghan Tim Hortons.

“I want to see Dave Arenburg go in and change it so that I’m allowed back at the Barrington location and give me a public apology,” he said.

Arenburg is mystified by Chetwynd’s demands.

“We installed a hitching post and as far as any ban that’s on him, it’s probably with court. Most of Mr. Chetwynd’s issues are with the courts. We have gone out of our way to try and accommodate him and have reached out to him on numerous occasions. We have had other responsible riders regularly come through our premises.”

Chetwynd was reunited with Dillon last November but chose to stand in Alma Square in Yarmouth on Friday afternoon with his newly purchased horse, Casanova, a 15-year-old white gelding.

“The RCMP only bothered me once this morning,” he said.

“They told me to stay off Main Street and keep on Water Street.”

He says he plans on staying a few days in Yarmouth but appeared to be having a little difficulty finding room and board for Casanova and himself.

“I tried checking into the Grand Hotel, but they didn’t have any place for my horse. They were nice though. The concierge came out and held my horse while I went in and used the computer to try and find a place.”