Career
Lee began representing Hong Kong in equestrian competition at the international level soon after her arrival. With Lee"s skill, and equestrian at the 2008 Summer Olympics being held in Hong Kong rather than Beijing with the rest of events, it was a natural next step for her to attempt to participate, but her road to the Olympics was filled with obstacles. Lee, along with fellow United States. citizen showjumpers Jennifer Chang and Charlotte Morse and United Kingdom citizen dressage rider Aram Gregory, were not successful in obtaining special dispensations from the International Olympic Committee to compete for Hong Kong without holding Chinese nationality.
Among them, Lee and Gregory chose to apply to for naturalisation as Chinese nationals to the Hong Kong Immigration Department, which is authorised by Beijing to process Chinese nationality applications from Hong Kong residents.
People of Chinese descent born in Hong Kong are permitted to hold multiple citizenship. However, applicants for naturalisation are required to renounce all other citizenships they hold.
Lee was approved for naturalisation in July 2008, but her quest to represent Hong Kong at the Olympics finally faced an insurmountable barrier in the form of an injury to her horse, Mr Burns. The horse was in Belgium undergoing pre-export quarantine at the time.
Lee"s withdrawal meant that Hong Kong would not field an Olympic show jumping team
Lee"s fellow show jumpers Kenneth Cheng, Samantha Lam, and Patrick Lam would go on to compete as individuals. Lee went on to compete for Hong Kong at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.
