By Gordon B. Richardson II Always wearing a big smile -- whether painted or real -- Quail Dobbs has entertained, comforted, protected and cajoled rodeo participants, spectators, promoters and children alike for more than three decades. After 34 years as a professional rodeo clown, Quail Dobbs is retiring. He spent 24 years at the Houston Rodeo as a bullfighter, rodeo clown, barrelman and ambassador of good will. His story began in West Texas, where ranching and cowboying are a way of life. Dobbs grew up in Colorado City, Texas, where, during high school, he developed an interest in rodeo. His hometown did not have a rodeo, but there were several nearby in towns like Sweetwater and Snyder. He competed in junior, high school and amateur rodeos throughout West Texas. In addition to rodeoing during high school, he also played football. It was his football teammates who tagged him with the name "Quail." When asked why, Dobbs' response was that he wasn't sure, but thought it was because he was "a little flighty and always game." In 1960, Dobbs enrolled in Jack Buschbom's Bareback Riding School in South Dakota. While there, he rode bareback horses and soaked up all the knowledge he could about rodeo life. He then began rodeoing in the Midwest, because he thought there might not be as many veteran cowboys competing there, and experience could come quickly. Two years later, he went to work for a rodeo producer, taking care of horses and tack, and setting up portable chutes for rodeos around the Midwest while competing in those rodeos as well. One day there was no barrelman for the rodeo, and officials asked if any of the cowboys would like to try his hand at it. Dobbs said, "Heck, let me get into that thing. I have been a clown all my life -- at least that is what my high school teachers said." The bullfighter, George Doak, had an old pickle barrel with some padding in it, and he helped Dobbs with his makeup. After that first experience in the barrel, Dobbs wanted to clown every chance he got. He still rode bulls and bareback horses but eventually decided that the clowning side of rodeo was more his nature. Doak showed Dobbs how to fight bulls, and Dobbs also watched and learned from other clowns. In 1963, he worked all the rodeos he could as a clown and earned his professional rodeo card. He decided to quit riding and concentrate on clowning. Because he was one of the few rodeo clowns who was handy at both bullfighting and being a barrelman, he was called upon in 1974 to replace retiring rodeo great Buck LaGrand at the Houston Rodeo. Here, he worked with D.J. "Cajun Kid" Gaudin and Wilbur Plaugher. "This was the highlight of my career -- to get the call from Houston that they wanted me to work their rodeo. It was definitely exciting," said Dobbs.
During his career, Dobbs has thrilled and entertained rodeo fans all over the country and particularly in Houston. He has won countless awards, including Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Rodeo Clown of the Year, Coors "Man in the Can" and International Rodeo Fans Rodeo Man of the Year. His enthusiasm and dedication to work are second to none. Rick Chatman, a past world champion bullfighter who works the Houston Rodeo, said, "The thing that sets Quail apart from my peers is that he has lasted through three generations, or three eras, that have seen our sport change drastically. For him to keep on the edge throughout his career is phenomenal." Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo General Manager Dan Gattis said, "Quail Dobbs has been as good a representative for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the sport of pro rodeo as anyone I have ever known. He has always had time for everyone. He took his job very seriously, whether it was late nights or early mornings." For all his ability and aptitude for entertaining a rodeo audience, one of the most noted things about Dobbs is that he is a "solid citizen." When not working the bull riding events, Dobbs didn't just cool his heels in his dressing room with his lipstick, grease paint and eyebrow pencils. He took time to talk to spectators. He made public appearances and promoted rodeos all over the country, spending 100 days in a typical year traveling from his hometown to perform his profession's two fundamental duties: entertaining rodeo audiences and protecting cowboys during bull riding competitions. He was an active participant in many other parts of the Houston Show. "Dobbs clowned around playing with the kids who were nervously lining up getting ready to load the fire trucks for the Show's grand entry," said Larry Carroll, Show lifetime vice president and chairman of the Grand Entry Committee. After the 1998 Show, the people on the arena crew who drove the fire trucks and buggies in the grand entry gave Dobbs a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo commemorative buckle in appreciation of his dedicated service. "Kids were his main interest; being a barrelman was second," said Bill Bailey, a lifetime vice president of the Show and announcer who worked with Dobbs on each performance's calf scramble, which can be an exhausting and sometimes heartbreaking event for the kids. "Dobbs was always in tune with the kids," stated Bailey. "He's a kid's kind of guy." Perhaps where he shined the most, other than during the bull riding events, was during the Special Children's Committee's Exceptional Rodeo. Past Committee Chairman Nano Scherrieb related an incident when a young cowgirl participant was staring apprehensively at Dobbs. With a gentle touch, he wiped some of his red nose paint from his nose and smeared it on to hers. "There was instant rapport between them," said Scherrieb. "He helped guide the exceptional cowboys and cowgirls through their events. He was always there, hand in hand, with one or another of the cowboys or cowgirls. He even brought autographed photos of himself to put in the children's 'bags of treasures' to take home with them," Scherrieb fondly recalled. When asked about Dobbs, Houston Rodeo announcer Bob Tallman said, "In 30 years of my life with him on the road, he is the largest inspiration of my career for a human object under six feet. I have known 10,000 men who have wanted to be Quail Dobbs. He is dedicated, unduplicatable, trustworthy and one of the most naturally talented, self-made comedians that I have ever known." On Jan. 1, 1999, Dobbs will become a full-time public servant, taking office as the justice of the peace in Coahoma, Howard County, Texas. "Judge" Dobbs will be greatly missed, not only by just the bull riders, but by everyone else who had the chance to see him perform or had the opportunity to meet him during his 24 years of dedicated service at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
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