Biography
When Vern Halter, 55, left his home state of South Dakota in 1977 to seek new career opportunities. With a law degree tucked in his back pocket, he made the trek to the 49th state and a vast new world called Alaska. Now, 27 years later, these opportunities have not only led to a career as an attorney, but more importantly to a full time kennel owner racing the Iditarod. Along with his wife, Susan Whiton, they own and operate “Dream a Dream Dog Farm.” Susan has run the Iditarod twice and after graduating from Washington State Veterinary School, is well known in mushing circles as the “Country Vet.” “Dream a Dream Dog Farm” is home to 75 huskies and is located in Willow and Trapper Creek, Alaska. The year round mental and physical conditioning of the dogs for the world’s premier sled dog race occurs here.
2003 Standings
| Checkpoint | Time In | Dogs In | Time Out | Dogs Out | Rest Time | Previous | Layover | Status | Distance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enroute Time | Speed (mph) | 8hr | 24hr | ||||||||
| Anchorage | 3/01 10:39:00 | 6 | |||||||||
| Campbel Airstrip (BLM) | 3/01 11:38:00 | 6 | 0h 59m | ||||||||
| Ruby | 3/03 10:34:00 | 16 | 317 | ||||||||
| Galena | 3/03 15:04:00 | 16 | 3/03 15:04:00 | 16 | 0h 0m | 4h 30m | 11.56 | 52 | |||
| Nulato | 3/04 03:56:00 | 16 | 3/04 09:38:00 | 16 | 5h 42m | 12h 52m | 4.04 | 52 | |||
| Kaltag 1 | 3/04 16:45:00 | 16 | 3/04 23:50:00 | 14 | 7h 5m | 7h 7m | 5.90 | 42 | |||
| Eagle Island 1 | 3/05 20:01:00 | 14 | 3/06 01:22:00 | 13 | 5h 21m | 20h 11m | 3.47 | 70 | |||
| Grayling 1 | 3/06 08:22:00 | 13 | 3/07 10:00:00 | 13 | 25h 38m | 7h 0m | 8.57 |  |
60 | ||
| Anvik | 3/07 14:45:00 | 13 | 3/07 16:50:00 | 12 | 2h 5m | 4h 45m | 3.79 | |
18 | ||
| Grayling 2 | 3/07 20:33:00 | 12 | 3/08 04:34:00 | 12 | 8h 1m | 3h 43m | 4.84 | |
|
18 | |
| Eagle Island 2 | 3/08 16:41:00 | 12 | 3/08 17:17:00 | 11 | 0h 36m | 12h 7m | 4.95 | |
|
60 | |
| Kaltag 2 | 3/09 06:37:00 | 11 | 3/09 06:38:00 | 11 | 0h 1m | 13h 20m | 5.25 | |
|
70 | |
| Unalakleet | 3/09 09:02:00 | 11 | 3/09 09:10:00 | 11 | 0h 8m | 2h 24m | 37.50 | |
|
90 | |
| Shaktoolik | 3/09 11:50:00 | 11 | 3/09 19:49:00 | 9 | 7h 59m | 2h 40m | 15.75 | |
|
42 | |
| Koyuk | 3/10 05:22:00 | 9 | 3/10 13:00:00 | 9 | 7h 38m | 9h 33m | 5.03 | |
|
48 | |
| Elim | 3/10 21:44:00 | 9 | 3/11 06:46:00 | 9 | 9h 2m | 8h 44m | 5.50 | |
|
48 | |
| White Mountain | 3/11 20:35:00 | 9 | 3/12 04:03:00 | 9 | 7h 28m | 13h 49m | 3.33 | |
|
46 | |
| Safety | 3/12 09:28:00 | 9 | 3/12 18:33:00 | 9 | 9h 5m | 5h 25m | 10.15 | |
|
55 | |
| Nome | 3/13 00:59:00 | 9 | 3/13 06:31:00 | 9 | 5h 32m | 6h 26m | 3.42 | |
|
22 | |
