A Welcoming Community

D.G. Van Clief ’66 came to Westminster straight off his family’s farm and felt immediately at home on Williams Hill. He credits the school’s strong sense of community for embracing him and for encouraging him to grow academically and athletically. His four years at Westminster were the most impactful experience of his adolescence and prepared him for the many challenges he faced in college and beyond.

When D.G. was growing up on his family’s Thoroughbred horse farm in Charlottesville, Va., boarding school never entered his mind. His parents, however, thought if he attended a school in a different part of the country it would broaden his educational experience. Indeed, it opened a whole new world for him.

Fewer than 200 boys were enrolled in Westminster when he arrived, but D.G. was attracted to the very strength of that community, a hallmark of the school that continues to hold true today although the school has doubled in size and has been coed since 1971.

To a 14-year-old Southerner accustomed to a warmer climate, life on the Hill in the dead of winter could have felt alienating, especially when it came to playing outdoor athletics in frigid temperatures. He weighed only 106 pounds as a Third Former, which presented challenges for him athletically. Still, he was encouraged by coaches and faculty to try different sports each season. He played football and ice hockey, although he had never seen a pair of hockey skates before arriving at Westminster.

D.G. knew he would not play at the same level as a student who had skated his entire life, but coaches Dick Hopley P’80, GP’12, Jake Nolde, Michael Jackson ’49, P’75, 83, GP’04, 06 and Dick Flood Jr. instilled confidence in him and he ended up playing hockey all four years.

More importantly, D.G. took pride in being part of the team and the “grit and grace” displayed by his teammates when matched against a larger, more competitive school. “We always punched above our weight as a team; we were so very proud of our school,” he reflected.

Academically, D.G. felt challenged to think outside the box, particularly when he was selected for Rankine Hinman’s advanced studies history class in his Fifth Form year. The experience boosted his academic confidence.

English teacher Gordon McKinley taught him to develop his analytical skills, how to break down composition into components, how to compose his own essays and to think critically. “Westminster opened up a world of intense growth and development for me,” he said. After graduating from Westminster, D.G. earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, and went on to serve as a Naval officer with the U.S. Marines Corps. Following his time in the military, he briefly worked at MetLife. But Thoroughbred racing was in his blood, and he soon launched a career in the industry, beginning in the equine insurance business, then in management positions with Fasig-Tipton Co., one of the largest Thoroughbred auction houses in the country. In 1982, he became executive director and later president of The Breeder’s Cup. He also served as a commissioner and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and was a member of the Virginia Racing Commission. He stepped down from the latter position in 2021 to serve in his current role as a member on the board of the Federal Trade Commission’s new Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority.

Looking back, D.G. said his education at Westminster prepared him for every step of his career and inspired him to give back. In gratitude to the school, D.G. has been a loyal donor to Westminster, giving consecutively for more than three decades. More recently, he joined the Thring Society.

“I have always had a warm spot in my heart for Westminster and I am proud to be a Martlet,” he said.

But he has another strong reason for supporting Westminster. “We need schools like Westminster to educate future leaders on a local and on a national level,” he said. “Westminster’s mission to cultivate and instill a sense of service in students and to focus on caring and working as a team is critical to our future now more than ever.”