CouesWhitetail Report post Posted August 25, 2011 Wild Heritage Taxidermy has been a sponsor here for two years and since that time they have grown their business quite a bit and won many awards in taxidermy competitions. They also regularly donate very generously to our Coues Buck Contest and Elk Contest. Dale and Heather Robertson run Wild Heritage Taxidermy and they have been in business for three years. Dale learned taxidermy by taking the intensive taxidermy course at Kindred Spirits School of Taxidermy in Iowa several years ago. This course gave him extensive knowledge of current taxidermy techniques. I have had the pleasure of meeting with Dale and Heather at their home and they are very personable and obviously passionate about taxidermy and very talented. Dale does most of the taxidermy work and Heather handles the bookwork and assists with some of the prepping of skins and habitat work. Together they have built quite a following in the short three years they have been in business. Dale can mount any species and he really loves to get creative by modifying forms and creating custom mounts. Their average turn around time is 8-12 months. The business is located in Young, Arizona, which can be quite a drive for some people to drop off a trophy. However, Dale and Heather can also make pick-up and drop-off arrangements just about anywhere. (Dale has been known to go cape one out on a mountainside if needed!). Since their shop is on the same property as their home they are generally available anytime, 24/7…. just come by or call. They don’t have the best cell service there in Young and calls tend to go straight to voicemail instead of ringing through, so you will probably need to leave a message, or send a text, but they will call you back as soon as they can. “Creativity is important here, we want your mount to be more than just an antler holder or fur rack. We want you to relive every moment of your hunt and believe that having your mount look alive goes a long way towards achieving that. It’s all in the details. To truly bring a mount to life no detail can be overlooked. At Wild Heritage Taxidermy we spend the extra time required to assure that happens.” Dale Robertson Dale is dedicated to continuously improving his skills as a taxidermist. He attends seminars put on by the ATAA (Arizona Taxidermy Artists Assn.) and is also a Board Member. He also competes at our State shows and at Nationals. These competitions have several seminars scheduled every day and are a great way to keep up on new techniques and to learn from State, National and World Champions of the trade. The industry is evolving at a rapid pace with the development of new materials and techniques almost daily. The level of realism that can be achieved today is amazing. Although nature is the ultimate competition, Dale feels that competing against and learning from the best artists in the trade is essential to the continual improvement of his work. Dale entered his first state show only 10 months after he got out of school. He entered 4 pieces and received the following ribbons and awards. 2010 ATAA 2010 Best New Competitor Award 2010 Best of Category Lifesize, Professional Division (Lifesize Black Bear) 2010 Best Habitat (Lifesize Black Bear) 2010 1st Place, Professional Division (Lifesize Mountain Lion) 2010 1st Place, Professional Division (Custom Coues Deer Pedestal) 2010 2nd Place, Professional Division (Snow Goose) 2011 ATAA 2011 Best Gamehead Profesional Division (Mountain Lion Floor Pedestal) 2011 Best Collective Artist (Lifesize Mountian Lion) 2011 Best Habitat (Lifesize Mountian Lion) 2011 1st Place Professional Division (Howling Coyote Pedestal) 2011 2nd Place Professional Division (Kaibab Mule Deer) 2011 NTA (Nationals) 2011 1st Place Open Division (Mountain Lion Floor Pedestal) It's important to note that with the exception of the Mountain Lion Floor pedestal and the Snow Goose all pieces shown were customer pieces. He didn't just do a few show pieces to enter in the competitions...he used the regular work he is doing for customers. Dale said, “I think we offer some things as standard that you would pay extra for at other shops. We include custom alterations, basic base and habitat, and open mouth on all lifesize pieces. We also put full depth nostrils, nictitating membranes, and eye rotation in our mounts at no additional charge. We also provide some great Youth discounts. I believe that potential clients should bring their trophy to Wild Heritage Taxidermy because we put the same time, effort and detail into every piece, whether it’s a ½ price Youth 1st Deer mount or a lifesize piece for competition. Really it’s about value, you will get consistently high quality, lifelike work at a reasonable price.” Wild Heritage Taxidermy 198 Puma Ln. Young, Az 85554 928-238-0097 928-238-0094 http://www.wildheritagetaxidermy.com/ Now, I will let the photos speak for themselves. I think some of my favorites are that coyote mount and the lion pedestal mount. Please visit their website to see more photos. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted August 26, 2011 Those mounts look awesome, Nice work! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WildHeritageTaxidermy Report post Posted October 2, 2011 Amanda, Thank you for putting this Sponsor Spotlight together for us, and all the other sponsors on your site. Coueswhitetail has been instrumental in helping WHT to get off the ground in this economy. We are also thankful to all the hunters that trusted us with their trophies and hope they realize the care and time spent on them, as if they were our own. We have met quite a few members from this forum and are glad to call some of you friends. This is a great site and it has helped many people through some tough times and celebrated the good times too. We are glad to be a part of it. Heather & Dale WHT 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted October 2, 2011 Amanda, Thank you for putting this Sponsor Spotlight together for us, and all the other sponsors on your site. Coueswhitetail has been instrumental in helping WHT to get off the ground in this economy. We are also thankful to all the hunters that trusted us with their trophies and hope they realize the care and time spent on them, as if they were our own. We have met quite a few members from this forum and are glad to call some of you friends. This is a great site and it has helped many people through some tough times and celebrated the good times too. We are glad to be a part of it. Heather & Dale WHT Thank you!! and it's great having people like you around here too!! Thanks for all the information you share and quality work you do for forum members! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Santana Outdoors Report post Posted October 3, 2011 We dropped off our elk last week, thanks Dale for jumping right on it. Eric Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZbowhntr Report post Posted October 6, 2011 Dale, I look forward to sending you a bull later this year. Wood down the road did my bull this last year and it was his last one he will ever do but he speaks very highly of you and your work. And I think that is a lot coming from him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
