Auffarth wins eventing at World Equestrian Games

CAEN, France (AP) Sandra Auffarth of Germany won the individual gold medal in eventing at the World Equestrian Games by riding a clear round on Opgun Louvo in the show jumping portion on Sunday.

Auffarth, a bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, cleared every obstacle at Stade d'Ornano in 89 seconds, well below the allowed time of 93 seconds. She held off compatriot and Olympic champion Michael Jung by 0.3 points.

''It's really unbelievable for me, but I'm so proud of my horse,'' Auffarth said. ''It was a big atmosphere. Of course, I was a little bit nervous, but I knew that my horse is a good show jumper, so I was quite relaxed.''

William Fox-Pitt of Britain, a runner-up at the 2010 games in Lexington, Kentucky, was first after Saturday's cross-country portion but lost any hope of winning by dropping a hurdle after 10 seconds. He finished third overall, 2.3 points behind Auffarth.

''He was fantastic yesterday,'' Fox-Pitt said of his horse. ''Perhaps today he was a little bit kind of heavy-legged, a little bit less reactive than he normally is.''

Eventing is an Olympic discipline made up of three portions: dressage, cross country and show jumping.

Auffarth was leading after Friday's dressage test. Her performance also contributed to Germany's victory in the team competition, ahead of Britain and the Netherlands.

Zara Phillips, the 2006 world champion and granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, made no mistake in show jumping to finish 11th overall and help Britain secure the silver medal.

The World Equestrian Games end on Sept. 7.