Dubai: By night, Carolyn Smith does 12-hour shifts at her local hospital in New Jersey — but by day she fulfils her passion for shooting.
Smith is a nurse who had no intentions of becoming a top-class markswoman, But, in 2006, her boyfriend Dan Glazier invited her to try her hand at shooting skeet. She fell in love with the sport and life has never been the same since for the now 46-year-old.
Today she is a regular member of the All-American Team in the sporting clays category, while still learning to balance her professional and personal lives.
“Some of my greatest joys are connected with shooting,” Smith told Gulf News after taking the sole leadership in the elite women’s category on the opening day of this week’s Second Nad Al Sheba Desert Shooting Competition.
“I would never give up nursing. I love it so much that I will be a nurse till I retire. Both nursing and shooting are two separate elements in my life and these will remain that way.
“I take my shooting very seriously, but my first love is my profession as a nurse. I am committed to both,”
Smith hit 45 targets out of 50 on Wednesday, putting her ahead of more accomplished shooters such as Sweden’s Anna Jarnald, Britain’s Janine Preece and Natasha Blockwell and fellow American Deborah Lee Davis.
“I don’t know too many of these shooters simply because I love to keep a low profile. My job on the range is to go out there and strike every target that comes at me,” she said.
“I hope I can keep this concentration going for the next few days. And even if I don’t then it is OK as I’ve come here for the experience — and standing in that top spot ahead of all these accomplished shooters is already an experience in itself.
Smith is making her in debut in Dubai this week, as her job commitments and the cost of travel proved prohibitive last year. “Both of us [she and Glazier] were keen to come here at least once. And I am glad we did,” Smith said.
