When Dan Shacklett first agreed to help finish a fence on Angie Clark’s Kentucky farm, he thought he was lending a hand. He didn’t realize he was stepping into a future that would include thousands of feet of fencing, three horse-related businesses and, eventually, a wedding.
“She had 16 unfenced acres, so I went to help,” Shacklett said. “I didn’t know I was going to put up 2,700 more feet of fence all by myself. That’s how I knew it was love.”
This fall, Shacklett will marry Clark, and together they run Royal Creek Farm, where they board horses, manage a breeding program and build custom pieces for the equestrian community. Their third venture, Red Oak Customs, grew out of Shacklett’s lifelong ability to make and fix things. He builds everything from picture frames and signs to horse tack trunks and show-ready barn setups.
That hands-on skill also serves him in his day job at Yum! Brands, where Shacklett is a building and facilities supervisor at the company’s Restaurant Support Center (RSC) in Louisville, Kentucky. His role is part project manager, part problem solver, making sure his team knows that his door is always open if they have a personal issue or need advice.
Shacklett’s days are long, starting at 3:45 a.m., tending to the horses before hitting the gym and then sitting down at his computer by 5:30 a.m. He tries to leave the office around 3 p.m., then heads straight to Royal Creek Farm. There, he feeds the horses, checks the creek and makes sure debris hasn’t caught in the fencing or gates. After that, he heads to the garage to work on customer orders for Red Oak Customs. By 8 p.m., he stops to eat dinner, watch the news and get a few hours of sleep before doing it all again.
Foaling season can make that already full schedule even more unpredictable. There have been times Shacklett called his coach, Yum! Corporate Services Manager Royce Blevins, to say he’ll be late — not because he overslept, but because a foal was arriving.
“Dan is an early riser. If he’s not in the office by 6 a.m., it’s because he’s bringing a magnificent foal into this world!” said Blevins. “He’s not only a great building engineer, he’s an excellent horseman!”
For Shacklett, the farm is less a hobby than a return to his roots. He grew up on a 150-acre farm where his family raised tobacco, cattle and four Belgian draft horses (the kind of big, sturdy horses people often compare to Clydesdales). Those early years shaped the way he sees animals and the way he approaches work.
“A horse is just a big dog,” he said. “You just have to be easy with them and talk to them. They’re like big puppies that eat a little more.”
Shacklett has always been drawn to work that requires his hands. Before joining Yum! eight years ago, he worked in conveyor maintenance, served as a contractor in Afghanistan helping train and manage local workers and worked as a machinist. Long before any of that, he was the kind of kid who took things apart just to understand how they worked.
“If I couldn’t figure out how to get it back together, then I’d get whipped,” Shacklett said. “So you figure out real quick how to put it back together!”
That practical mindset has carried into every part of his life, from managing facilities projects at the RSC to building the infrastructure at Royal Creek Farm from the ground up. He is quick to point out that the horse world is not all polished arenas and blue ribbons. Show horses may be in the ring for only 10 or 15 minutes, but getting them there takes months of training, travel, care and planning.
Still, he wouldn’t trade the long days. His favorite part is simple: being with the horses. Each has its own personality, from the retired Hackney Road pony named Whiskey to Bocelli, a boarded horse with torn retinas who relies on Whiskey to help guide him back from the creek.
“Wherever Whiskey goes, Bocelli goes with him,” Shacklett said. “Sometimes Bocelli can get down to the creek by himself, but he can’t always find his way back up the hill. Whiskey will go out there, nudge him and bring him back. It’s sweet.”
That connection is what keeps Shacklett going, even on five hours of sleep. The farm is demanding, but it also gives him something he can’t always find in the middle of a busy workday: quiet focus.
“If you have a bad day, you can go out there and mess with the horses, and the stress goes away,” he said. “You’re focused on them — how they’re doing, what they need. That’s my stress relief.”
For Shacklett, that balance is possible because of the support he feels at Yum!. He says his team knows his phone is always on and that he’ll answer if there’s an issue. In return, he appreciates the flexibility to manage the occasional early-morning foal or farm emergency.
“They know if there’s an issue, I’ll answer the phone,” Shacklett said. “We’re very flexible.”
It is a fitting arrangement for someone whose days are built around responsibility — to his team, the building, the animals and the future he and Angie are building together. What started as a fence line has become a life stitched together by work ethic, craftsmanship and care.