In 1958, Hartley founded Spur Ranch of Vinita, Okla., building a reputation for practicality as a pioneer in performance testing and carcass evaluation, demonstrated in the 1971 International grand champion bull, Spur Emulous Master. He established H&H Land & Cattle Co. LLC in 1994, and was involved in the planning of the Oklahoma Beef Inc. bull test station at Oklahoma State University.