He is stable jockey for Richard Hannon Jr. Dobbs was born and brought up in a non-racing family in County Wexford, Ireland.

To start with, he had been allowed to keep the ride after winning on a horse, but once Hughes was established, “Richard always went to the best meetings and I would work around him.”[1] Dobbs suffered a series of injuries early in his career, and being "painfully shy"[1] didn't speak about his frustration.

In 2015, he had his first Group 1 success on Pether's Moon in the Coronation Cup, besting French horses Dolniya and Flintshire in the final 100 yards.

[1] Since then, he has continued to ride for Richard Jr, winning the 2017 Earl of Sefton Stakes among other things, but owners at the stable have also used younger jockeys like Sean Levey and Cam Hardie.

Dobbs has spent a number of winters in Dubai, where he is better known than in Britain, and has won several significant races for American trainer, Doug Watson.