South O' the Highway (and the North too)

Hillary Dobbs of Sussex, NJ and Corlett won the $200,000 FTI Grand Prix on Sunday's closing event of the Hampton Classic Horse Show. Dobbs, 20, became the youngest rider in the 33-year history of the show to win the class, finishing in 41.13 seconds aboard Corlett with a clear round. Brianne Goutal, 19, of New York City, placed second with Onira, and Kirsten Coe, 27, of Katonah, NY, placed third with Starlight.

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Word on the street is that Hamptonite Tommy Hilfiger is about to list his new Plaza duplex apartment for $50 million, a property he originally bought for $29 million. The two-unit residence totals 6,000 square feet. Deborah Grubman of the Corcoran Group is rumored to be the listing broker.

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Russell Simmons had to take a breather after a recent class at Yoga Shanti in Sag Harbor. After telling Colleen Saidman Yee that her classes were too easy, the yoga instructor kicked things up a notch. The hour ended with 11 consecutive backbends - and a very exhausted Simmons.

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The summer might be officially over, but you can still hang in the Hamptons (without having to deal with the traffic!), thanks to "Virtual Worlds Hamptons," coming soon to a computer near you. The program is part of Next Island, a new 3-D virtual world created by David Post. Catch a preview a www.nextisland.com.

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Rising fuel prices are even affecting big names with deep pockets. Case in point: Diddy's flying commercial airlines (first class, of course). Previously, the hip-hop mogul frequently traveled by private jet, which would cost $200,000 and up for a New York-Los Angeles roundtrip.

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Hugh Grant attended the Evian Polo event in Water Mill last weekend with clothing designer Catherine Fulmer. The pair apparently met earlier that day on the beach in Southampton, but things seem to be going well - Grant plans to attend her first New York fashion show next week.

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Mercedes Ruehl, a longtime supporter of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, attended the benefit for the Adler Outreach Division and Roy Scheider Scholarship Endowment Fund at John "Bucky" Hearst, Jr.'s Water Mill home. Ruehl will soon be appearing on the new season of HBO's "Entourage" to reprise her role as the mother of Vincent and Johnny Chase.

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Big names at the Hampton Classic Horse Show last weekend included brewery heiress Daphne Guinness, Naomi Campbell, Ivana Trump, Kelly Ripa, Kelly Klein, Sale Johnson, Ahmad Rashad, Terry Allen Kramer, Nick Simunek, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Peter Cook and Cook's girlfriend, Suzanne Shaw.

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Billy Joel and wife Katie Lee threw an end-of-summer bash at their Sagaponack estate Sunday night. In attendance were Jon Bon Jovi, Chevy Chase, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Ron Perelman and Brad Grey.

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Publicist Lizzie Grubman announced during a luncheon at her parents' East Hampton home on Saturday that she and her husband, Chris Stern, are expecting twins. The new arrivals will join Harrison, Grubman's and Stern's one-year-old son.

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