By Jessica Remo | NJ Advance Media

When Mindy Weiss Affronti pulled up to the bank drive-thru two weeks ago and saw a man atop a robotic horse at the teller window, she did a double take.

Then she took his picture.

The friendly cowboy smiled, happy to oblige, before riding off. Left in the stupor of what she had seen, Affronti did what any other rational person would do: She posted the photo on social media.

And so began the newfound fame of Steve Bacque, the self-proclaimed Crazy Cranford Cowboy.

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via GIPHY

After Affronti shared her photo and a video in a neighborhood Facebook group, there were others. Bacque and his horse had been spotted at the nearby Home Depot. Rolling along near the train station. Galloping through errands downtown.

The commenters were tickled.

"Is that available on Amazon?"

"I have now seen it all."

"That's the Texas jazzy."

"He crossed right in front of us at the intersection. … The kids were in shock."

And they had questions. So many questions.

When I made contact with Bacque, 57, a Texas native (duh) turned Cranford resident, to get the answers, he was happy to participate. He even agreed to meet to show off his rig. And so, on a 90-degree Friday, we met up for a little barrel racing in the park followed by some trotting around downtown Cranford. Here’s what Bacque had to say.

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What the yeehaw is that thing?

Bacque’s trusty steed is a golf cart motor powered by four electric batteries, which Bacque charges up in his garage every night, all covered up and outfitted to look like a horse. He named it Charger.

Charger can do about 15 miles per hour and can handle up to 600 pounds. He even has a wheelie bar in the back, which is “not just for show,” Bacque warns. Yes, this motorized horse can pop a (small) wheelie.

Charger turns left and right with the reins and even brakes when you pull back on them. A key turns him on, and a gas pedal sets him in motion.

I took him for a spin around the barrels, and let me tell you, it was a thrill.

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Can someone help me explain this?? 😂 😆 😝 Posted by Yeehawcowboy.com on Saturday, August 25, 2018

Charger is just one from an entire fleet of motorized bulls and horses created in Fort Worth, Texas by a business called the Rodeo Zone. Bacque says they've been used for team-building, corporate events and kids parties.

While visiting family in Texas this year, Bacque bought Charger and decided to bring him back to New Jersey to cruise the quiet, suburban streets of Cranford — and to maybe one day set up his own operation here.

“What do you do with an old Texas rodeo cowboy when he marries a Jersey girl, he’s up in Jersey, and he has no place to keep a horse in Cranford?” Bacque asks. “You make a mechanical horse!”

Of course.

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On the trail again

At the intersection of busy Lincoln and Walnut avenues, near the park where we’ve been barrel racing, the cars slow and jaws drop. Several people pull over. You could spend a day just watching folks react and then desperately fumble for their phones before the light changes.

Bacque loves it. As the cars idle at the red light, he pulls up next to them on the sidewalk and taunts: “You guys want to race? I bet I can beat ya!”

At the post office, he’s a hit. A crowd has gathered. A young girl asks if she can sit on it and take a picture. Bacque is in his glory.

He mails a letter from atop Charger and makes a joke about bringing back the Pony Express. In his chaps and fringe and cowboy hat, he could turn heads all by himself. Charger takes the act over the top.

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The horse isn’t street legal, according to Cranford Police, who say Bacque did come in to ask about getting it registered. They sent him to Motor Vehicles, where Bacque says employees were stumped by Charger but eventually told him to follow bike and scooter rules.

Back in motion on his faithful rig, a young girl sprints at full speed to try to catch up and get a shot. All along the way he gets thumbs up and laughs from people who are for sure reaching out to someone, anyone, to say, “You’ll never believe what I just saw.”

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Bacque on Oprah.

Steve's story

But Bacque isn’t just the crazy Cranford cowboy: He was a child model, a Marine, a boxer and a rodeo competitor. He says he was a terrible student, flunked out of two colleges, was told for years he was “stupid” and even found himself homeless after a failed business venture. He says it wasn’t until later in life that he was diagnosed with dyslexia and learned how to adapt.

In his 20s, he moved from Texas in with his parents, who had moved to Lakehurst. Things turned around when he fell in love with his wife, Angela, but she refused to move away from her family here. And so Bacque came to be a cowboy stuck in New Jersey.

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Bacque's toy company featured on CNN.

Tragedy struck when the couple’s first son died as an infant in 1990. Bacque said he wanted to do something in his honor, and so, in his basement, he created a Western toy company. This is where his tale of rags came to riches: The company was a success and Bacque was featured on Oprah, CNN and other news programs. He employed those with mental or physical disabilities through a workforce center here. He was honored as an Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year" in 1993.

Bacque says he eventually sold the company in 1995 and went on to become an inspirational speaker and business consultant. He authored several books.

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Bacque featured on the cover of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital newsletter.

A few years ago, he said, he lost his path and became depressed. He was overweight and facing health issues. But in 2017, worried about being able to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding, he had gastric surgery and lost more than 100 pounds (from 320 pounds down to 188 now).

And now, since Charger has been such a hit, he’s reinvigorated. He’d like to get back into business.

When it comes to these kinds of ventures, Bacque says, he lives by a rodeo motto: "It’s better to have spent seven seconds in the saddle and end up with a face full of dirt, than to spend a lifetime in the stands."

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Bacque in his rodeo days.

What's next

Bacque says he’d like to develop his own version of a motorized horse and again employ those with disabilities and also disabled veterans to help produce and rent them.

He says he hopes to inspire others by showing that if he could overcome his challenges and become a successful businessman, then anyone can.

In the meantime, you’ll likely spot him hoofing it around Cranford as so many others have.

“So many people are grumpy just driving around. They give you one half of the peace sign,” Bacque says with a laugh. “But when people see me, they’re smiling. That’s so cool. If I’m making people happy for just a little bit of their day, then it’s all good, even if they’re laughing at me — this guy from Texas dressed as cowboy riding a mechanical horse.”

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Jessica Remo may be reached at jremo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaRemoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.