South Korean Olympic Hopeful Hyun Woo Do and Duisenberg in Training with Helen Langehanenberg

Dressage

Korea

South Korean Grand Prix rider Hyun Woo Do has moved into Helen Langehanenberg's barn and is training with the German Olympic team rider in an attempt to qualify for the 2023 Paris Olympic Games.

Do purchased the now 14-year old internationally competed Grand prix horse Duisenberg (by Desperados x Weltmeyer) in December 2021.

Jessica Süss

The chestnut is a former licensed stallion who was first competed by Ann-Christin Wienkamp and German based Frenchman Raphael Thomas. In 2017 Jessica Süss took over the ride and she competed him almost all Nurnberger Burgpokal qualifiers in 2018, but did not make it to the finals .

In 2019 the owners' group behind Duisenberg sold the horse to Carolin Fehlings and Süss retained the ride. The pair made its international Grand Prix debut at the 2020 CDI Mariakalnok and showed in two further World Cup qualifiers that year (Pilisjaszfalu and Aarhus). In 2021 Süss rode him in Salzburg, Opglabbeek, Mariakalnok, Herzlake, Hagen, and CDIO Aachen.

Duisenberg was shipped to Isabell Werth's yard and sold to Korean Hyun Woo "Tony" Do.

Asian Games

Süss and Duse are the 2023 Rhinelander Champions

The chestnut travelled to Korea to the yard of 2018 Asian Games individual bronze medal Hyeok Kim, who trained the pair alongside Jessica Süss, who regularly travelled to Korea as well as coached Do via online training.

The initial plan was for Do to qualify for the 2022 Asian Games but due to the Games' postponement and last-minute paperwork issues, the pair did not get selected for the 2023 Asian Games

Paris Olympics

Realizing that in order to achieve the big Olympic dream it's best to be in Europe, Do shipped Duisenberg back to Germany in the spring of 2023 and stabled him with Jessica Süss.

Süss brushed up the training of the horse and put him back on track in the competition ring, showing him first in the Grand Prix at a local show in Munster in June, followed by the Rhinelander championships in Langenfeld where they won the regional champion's title. In July Do rode "Duse" in their first Grand Prix together at the local show in Müllheim, after which Jessica was back on board for the CDI Neu-Anspech. Do then competed him in Nettetal-Lobberich at the start of August.

Helen Langehanenberg

Do has now made the decision to move Duisenberg to Helen Langehanenberg for further training on the path to the Paris Olympics.

"I’m in Europe for the year and Helen will help me everything," Do told Eurodressage. "From now she is my trainer." Previous coach and rider Süss wrote, "I sincerely wish them both the best and continued success!"

How Asians Qualify for the Olympics

For a Korean to make it to Paris, he will have to compete at CDI's and collect points to gain a top two spot on the FEI Olympic Group G Ranking List.

South Korea is part of Group G, which includes South East Asia and Oceania with countries Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Australia qualified a team for Paris so they are excluded from the Group G ranking. Only one rider per national can qualify.

At the start of 2023 another South Korean - Olympian Dong Seon Kim - heralded his attempt for a Paris Olympic spot by buying Bohemian and competing him at three CDI's in Florida (which immediately put him 9th in the ranking), but he threw in the towel on his Paris attempt in July and is selling his Grand Prix horses.

At the moment Singaporean Caroline Chew (Tribiani) and South Korean Young Shik Hwang (Delmonte) are in the first two places of the FEI Olympic Group G Ranking list.