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This photograph from the 1953 inauguration of Dwight Eisenhower shows the incoming president being lassoed like an errant calf, while the sour-faced Secret Service and a merrily laughing Richard Nixon look on.
At the time of the 1953 inauguration, the United States was at the height of its infatuation with screen cowboys. Montie Montana, a renowned trick roper who performed in 60 Rose Bowl parades and more than 20 movies (including The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance), was asked to add some cowboy flavor to the inaugural proceedings. Montana suggested to the president that he could present Ike and Nixon with 10-gallon hats, but Ike decided to go with a lassoing instead.
