There are some people who say they miss the good ole’ days. Back when cowboys roamed the land and horses would graze along pastures that went as far as the eye could see. So some people could be forgiven if recently they thought they had gone back in time. Or rather, that a time traveler had found his way to a Walmart in Eagle Point, Ore. 

A would-be bike thief had just tried to ride off with a woman’s bike from a rack outside of the store, when Robert Borba heard the victim yelling. Borba, a real-life rancher and former rodeo cowboy, did the only thing he could think of: he got his horse Long John out of the trailer and jumped on, giving chase after the thief.

Robert Borba talks with a woman after he lassoed a man who stole her bike. Photo by KTVL

The cowboy, who by his own admission said that since he “just don’t run very fast,” the horse was the better option. The wannabe crime kingpin Victorino Arrellano-Sanchez, who had struggled to figure out how to use the mountain bike’s gears, ditched it in favor of attempting to run from the man and horse chasing him down.

With his trusty horse leading charge, Borba corralled Arrellano-Sanchez back into the Walmart parking lot, and with a well-practiced swing of his lasso, snagged the man by his ankle, bringing an end to the shortest crime spree of the century. For Borba it was just another day on the farm, well at the local Walmart.  “A couple swings and then I threw it at him, just like I would a steer,” Borba said.

He’s like, ‘What are you doing, man? You got a badge?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I ain’t got a badge,’” he said.

Borba called 911, and said even the operator was a bit unsure of how exactly he had managed to catch the thief. “We got a guy who just stole a bike here at Walmart. I got him roped and tied to a tree,” he said on the call. “What!?” the operator said. “I got him roped from a horse and he’s tied to a tree.”

Robert Borba shows of his lassoing skills. Photo from KTVL

The cavalry showed up and quickly realized the situation was under control. “I looked up and from the horse there was a rope connected to the ankle of a gentleman on the ground holding onto a tree,” said Eagle Point police officer Chris Adams. Borba, who had been at the store to buy dog food, said handling the lasso was just second nature.

“I use a rope every day, that’s how I make my living,” he said. ‘If it catches cattle pretty good, it catches a bandit pretty good.”

Arellano-Sanchez was arrested on a misdemeanor theft charge and held on a $3,000 bond. Adams said that after the arrest, the humble cowboy only asked for one thing. “Can I have my rope back? I’ve gotta go.” Borba, a father to six children with his wife, Alisa, said he hoped someone would have helped his family if they had needed it.

So it was an easy choice to help the woman whose bike was stolen. “Poor gal’s bike that could have been her only transportation,” Borba said. “Stealing ain’t right so I figured get him stopped you know?” Watch an interview with the old-fashioned hero below.

Sources: Daily Mail | NBC News