Fence Installer Turned CEO: How Clayton Llewellyn's Discovery Built the Fastest-Growing Horse Fence Company in America

Clayton Llewellyn wasn't looking to run a company. For years, he was the guy in the field — boots in the dirt, post-hole digger in hand, installing fence on horse properties across the country. He worked with every system on the market: wood rail, high-tensile wire, vinyl, pipe, electric tape. His reputation was built one job at a time.

In that line of work, your name is on everything. If something fails — if a horse gets hurt — that comes back to you. And over the years, Llewellyn saw it happen far too often.

"I saw a lot of preventable injuries," Llewellyn told Horse Fencing Digest in a recent interview from his North Carolina headquarters. "Horses caught in wire. Legs through rails. Full-blown panic into fences that had no give. Most fencing out there was never built for horses. It was built for cattle."

The distinction matters more than most property owners realize. Horses don't behave like cattle. They spook. They run. They test a fence. And when a 1,200-pound animal hits something rigid at full speed — particularly in the dark during a storm — the results can be devastating.

Then Llewellyn discovered Cameo.

'After My First Couple Installs, I Knew'

After his first couple of Cameo installations, Llewellyn said the difference was immediately obvious. The system — which uses round wooden posts with multiple white polymer lines strung horizontally — addressed every failure point he'd witnessed over years of fieldwork.

The polymer lines are highly visible to horses, eliminating the blind-run collisions that thin metal wire causes. They flex under pressure instead of acting as a rigid cutting force. And they hold up year after year with virtually no maintenance — no boards to replace, no wire to re-tension, no paint to touch up.

"The more I worked with it, the more it became obvious — this is what horse owners should be using," Llewellyn explained. "So I didn't just keep installing it. I bought the company."

Clayton Llewellyn with his family at their North Carolina property, with Cameo Fencing's signature polymer line system visible in the background. "This isn't just a business for me — it's personal," Llewellyn says. "My own kids play in fields protected by this fence. I wouldn't put my family behind anything I didn't trust completely." (Photo courtesy Llewellyn family)

The Fastest-Growing Fence Company in the U.S.

Since Llewellyn took the helm, Cameo Fencing has become the fastest-growing fence company in the United States. Industry analysts point to three factors driving the company's rapid expansion: the system is demonstrably safer for horses, it's more affordable over its lifetime than traditional alternatives, and it requires little to no ongoing maintenance.

"The cheapest fence you can buy is usually the one that costs you the most," Llewellyn said. "I watched people make the same tradeoff over and over during my years as an installer. Save money upfront, pay for it later. Cheap materials that fail. Boards snapping. Constant repairs. And then the real costs hit — time, labor, rebuilds. And sometimes vet bills that make your stomach drop."

Cameo's polymer line technology is engineered specifically for equine behavior. Each line flexes up to 20% under impact before returning to its original shape, with a breaking strength of 1,200 pounds per line. That combination — strong enough to contain, flexible enough to absorb impact — eliminates the "cheese cutter effect" that high-tensile wire delivers when a horse makes contact at speed.

A completed Cameo Fencing installation showing the system's signature round wooden posts and white polymer lines stretching across a horse property. The clean sight lines give horses clear boundary awareness while the flexible polymer prevents injury on contact. (Photo courtesy Cameo Fencing)

Storm-Tested: 20 Years and Still Standing

Long-time Cameo customers confirm what Llewellyn experienced in the field. Jean Freese-Popowitch, who has had the system on her property for nearly two decades, told Horse Fencing Digest that it has survived everything from deer impacts to fallen trees without a single break.

A Cameo Fencing installation photographed after a severe storm brought down tree limbs directly onto the fence line. The polymer lines remained intact and functional — a durability test that wood boards and vinyl fencing routinely fail. (Photo courtesy Cameo Fencing)

Barry Belton of Battleboro, North Carolina, reported similar results after 15 years: "I have had your fence for over 15 years and have been very happy with it. Now building one for my daughter." Mark from Sheridan, Wyoming, noted the ease of installation: "My daughter and I just completed the installation. How easy! This is awesome fencing! Best horse fencing on the market!"

Joel Mires from Michigan highlighted the system's performance in extreme temperature swings: "I still have most of the Cameo still in place even with the harsh temperature changes in Michigan. Great product. It kept our horses in for years."

Solving the Planning Problem

Beyond the product itself, Llewellyn identified another issue plaguing horse property owners — one that his years as an installer made painfully clear.

"Most people don't mess up their fence — they mess up the plan," he said. "When I was installing, this happened all the time. Halfway through the job, we'd run out of materials. Now everything stops. You're reordering. Second-guessing your layout. Burning time and money. What should've been a straightforward installation turns into a big headache."

That experience drove Llewellyn to build out something unusual in the fencing industry: a full-service customer support operation designed to eliminate planning errors before they happen.

Today, horse owners can visit CameoFencing.com and calculate their entire fence project in real time — getting exact material counts, layout recommendations, and pricing before a single post goes in the ground. The online calculator walks property owners through acreage, terrain, gate placement, and line count to produce a complete project plan.

For those who prefer a personal touch, Cameo's in-house fence experts are available by phone to walk owners through every detail one-on-one. "My team and I ensure you get it right the first time," Llewellyn said. "Know exactly how much fence you need. Know what system fits your property. And move forward with confidence. Because when the plan is right, the whole project gets easier."

What Horse Owners Should Know

For horse owners evaluating their fencing options — whether building new or replacing aging infrastructure — Llewellyn's message is direct.

"If your horses matter to you, your fence shouldn't be an afterthought," he said. "It shouldn't be whatever was cheapest at the supply store, or whatever someone down the road happened to use. Horses need visibility. They need flexibility. They need a system that's designed for impact. That's not most of what's out there."

The company offers free project consultations and planning through their website, where owners can access the fence calculator tool or schedule a call with an in-house expert who will walk them through the entire process.