Robert Borba was in a Walmart car park in Eagle Point, Orgeon when he heard a woman shout that a thief had taken her bike.

Mr Borba, 28, explained: “ ‘Stop him! Stop him! He stole my bike! He stole my bike!’ And I kind of look around and all of a sudden this guy goes whizzing by me on a bicycle.”

But Mr Borba gave chase on his horse and rounded up the suspect with his lasso.

“A couple swings and then I threw it at him, just like I would a steer,” he said.

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

Police then turned up and dealt with the suspect.

Mr Borba said: “If it was my wife or my little girl, I would hope somebody would help her if I wasn’t around.”

Police said the cowboy asked for his rope back, tipped his hat and rode off into the sunset.