Isabell Werth claimed her third gold medal of the Championships ©Getty Images

Isabell Werth defended her freestyle dressage title to claim a third gold medal of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) European Championships in Rotterdam.

Werth led a German clean sweep in the individual competition on Bella Rose in the Dutch city.

Judges awarded Werth a score of 90.875 per cent, which saw the German earn a ninth individual gold medal of her career at the European Championships.

She was followed by her team-mate Dorothee Schneider, who added to the silver medal in the Grand Prix Special event earlier this week.

Schneider, riding on Showtime FRH, finished with a score of 90.561 per cent.

The podium was completed by Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, who scored 89.107 per cent on TSF Dalera BB.

Denmark's Cathrine Dufour and Ireland's Judy Reynolds were the closest challengers to the German team.

They finished with scores of 87.771 and 85.589 per cent, respectively.

Werth's latest success completed a perfect week of dressage competition for Germany, following their team event triumph on Tuesday (August 20).

Attention will shift to the individual jumping events tomorrow in Rotterdam, with the competition resuming at the midway stage.

Britain's Ben Maher currently tops the standings.