EQUESTRIAN - Sponsored by Brickfields and Froghill
“I arrived with ten pounds
and a box of tools...”
Herefordshire-born Phil Legge came to the
Isle of Wight as a 20 year-old farrier, with
an ultimatum from his father ringing in his
ears: he had to give the move a good go,
and so was forbidden from returning home
for 12 months. As it turned out, he ended
up loving the Island so much that he made
his life here – and established Brickfields,
the well-known equestrian centre and
tourist attraction in Ryde.
Here we talk to Phil about the early
struggles and successes, his love for his
adopted home – and his ambitious plans for
the future.
Born in Hereford in 1952, Phil grew up on
his parents’ 150-acre dairy farm. He was one
of a large family of six children, and
because there was not enough money in
farming in those days for all six of the
Legge brood to earn a living at it, they all
ended up venturing off into different
trades.
Phil failed the 11-plus and admits to
skipping school a lot of the time to help his
father on the farm or attend horse sales. “I
was probably learning more at home than I
was at school,” recalls Phil. “In fact, the
only level I got was a spirit level!”
Phil was passionate, though, when it came
to horses. He had been riding them since
the tender age of two, being led round the
field by his father. By the age of four, he
had his own pony to ride round the farm,
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and was a member of the North
Herefordshire Pony Club for several years.
Phil’s earliest experience of the equestrian
business was buying “green” (unbroken)
horses with his father, bringing them on
and then selling them for profit. This gave
him a wealth of experience in riding
difficult horses. “As soon as I got a horse
right, my father would sell it on to anyone
with a pocket full