Kay Gann, 67, rehabilitated, rented horses

Kay Gann bought nearly 30 horses in one swoop. She planned to buy only one or two for the family until she learned the horses that didn’t sell would go to the slaughterhouse.

“I bought a lot of these ponies in bad condition,” Mrs. Gann told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1988. “Most people would have put them to sleep, but I knew that with a little love and care, they would turn around, and they have.”

Those healthy and gentle enough earned their keep by giving pony rides. They became the backbone of “Kay’s Ponies,” a business Mrs. Gann started in 1983. Her beribboned ponies appeared at birthday parties, company outings and picnics.

“She loved it,” said her daughter, Sheri Ovbey of Danielsville. “She sacrificed her health for those animals.”

Kay Hamlett Gann, 67, of Winder and formerly of Dacula, died Saturday of congestive heart failure and renal disease at Gwinnett Medical Center. The funeral is 11 a.m. Tuesday at Tom M. Wages, Lawrenceville Chapel.

Mrs. Gann grew up on a Tennessee farm. The family raised animals to eat, but she always had pets. Often, Mrs. Gann would become attached to certain animals, her daughter said, and beg her late father to spare them.

She moved to Atlanta in 1969. At one time, Mrs. Gann cared for 120 horses on 15 acres in Dacula. Some needed medical care as well as a special diet. Eventually, the family convinced her to whittle the number of horses down to 80. It took years. She wouldn’t dare let the horses settle just anywhere. Buyers had to sign a contract saying they’d contact her if they had a change of heart about the animals.

“She spent $18,000 trying to save one horse’s life,” her daughter said, “and at one time she owed the feed store in Lawrenceville $6,000. She paid it all off, too. This was a total labor of love. She didn’t have any other hobbies, other than hanging out with grandkids.”

Granddaughter Bethany Thompson recalls spending time with Mrs. Gann. “My grandmother and her sweet animals — in their signature pink and blue halters, and matching saddle pads — have brought joy to so many children and adults over the years,” she wrote in an e-mail. “People have called her for more than 30 years to bring ponies and petting zoo animals to their special events all around metro Atlanta. The business lives on.”

In 2005, with Mrs. Gann’s health failing, Mrs. Ovbey took over. “Mane Event” now operates out of Danielsville in Madison County. To help with expenses, Mrs. Ovbey plans to apply for nonprofit status.

Additional survivors include three daughters, Amy Stapler of Dawsonville, Paula Gann of Panama City, Fla., and Laura McBride of Winder; two brothers, Ed Hamlett of Lebanon, Tenn., and Kenneth Hamlett of Ocean City, Md.; nine grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.