The RX-8

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,
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 of money” he recalls. “I
always had something to ride, and I always
had the best pony!”
On leaving school at 14, Phil had already
decided he wanted to be a farrier, and
managed to secure an apprenticeship in the
nearby market town of Bromyard, with J.G
Searle & Son.
“This provided a solid grounding for me, as
J.G Searle had many elements to the
business, including, agricultural
engineering, blacksmiths, farriery shop,
coach builders, and undertakers, so it gave
me a wide and varied experience, all within
one business” says Phil, who spent five
years working there.
“Although I just concentrated on the
farriery, I did help out a lot in the other
areas of the business, which gave me a good
grounding for future life. During the five
years of the apprenticeship, I spent 16
weeks at college every year, which I loved.
In fact I excelled in college. I built a really
good relationship with my tutor Billy Watts
who was a world champion farrier for two
years running. He took me under his wing
and looked after me”.
Once Phil finished his apprenticeship, he
had a gentleman’s agreement with his boss
that he would not set up in business in the
same area.
“As I am a man of my word, I looked
elsewhere to set up” he says. “At the time, a
neighbour of mine had just come back to
the Isle of Wight after visiting a friend of
his (Harold George). I was told to give
Harold a call as he could not get his horses
shod on the Island because of a lack of
farriers.
“Harold suggested I should come down and
have a look, and my father drove me here
because my van would not make the
journey. I was 20 then, and weighed 10
stone!
“On the way home I thought what a long
way from home this was. It was a big step
to move all this way, as I had never been
away from home before. I had no money at
the time as I was earning only £9 per week
when I finished my apprenticeship.
“However, my father said to me that if I
decided to go, I had to agree to stay for at
least 12 months, and not come back before
the 12 months was up. He also said he’d
pay a deposit on a mini pickup for me, to
make sure I turned up with the right image.
“So I came to the Island with a £750 mini
pickup on HP, a box of tools, and about £10
42 Island Life - www.islandlifemagazine.net