[1] Lee began representing Hong Kong in equestrian competition at the international level soon after her arrival.
Lee, along with fellow U.S. citizen showjumpers Jennifer Chang and Charlotte Morse and U.K. 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.
This was a difficult decision for Lee, in particular due to her concerns about her ability to travel back to her former home to care for her ageing parents; the U.S. is alone among Western countries in not granting visa-free treatment to holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports, meaning she would have to apply for a United States visa, and could face the possibility of rejection.
[2] 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.
Lee did well individually, with 17 penalties over two rounds placing her at 17th among 37 contestants, but other members of her team had worse luck, and in the end they failed to qualify.