Cowboy Stops Bike Theft with Help from His Horse and Lasso

As the news anchors say in the opening of their report, this story is hard to believe. Just by reading the title, you can't help but go "WTF?" Is this another one of those titles that seem to say one thing, when in fact what really happened is completely different. How should we put this? No.

Meet Robert Borba, a champion bull rider who was down at his local Wal-Mart to get some food for his dogs. Exactly why he had his horse, Old Grey (weird name to give to a horse that wasn't born old), with him in the trailer is anybody's guess. It's probably a cowboy thing we don't get, but whatever the reason, it turned out to be a very fortunate decision.

As Bob was getting ready to leave, he heard a woman scream that somebody had stolen her bike. Noticing the suspect was getting away, Bob realized the only way he could get him was to mount Old Grey and give chase. With all the rodeo practice, he threw his lasso at the thief, snatching his feet from the first try. “I just roped him and the rope went down around his feet, and I just rode off like I would if I’d roped a cow or something by myself,” Borba told NBC.

The suspect remained tied up until an Eagle Police unit arrived on the scene and detained him on suspicion of theft. Bob was finally free to return home and see to his chores. His little stunt has earned him the nicknames of Lone Ranger or "John Wayne of Southern Oregon," but Bob keeps his feet on the ground. When he's not riding horses, that is.