Was it in a show of a fair? Some shows do not have qualified judges. In fairs there are general guidelines and the judges should be chosen from a list that are qualified. With that being said, some judges are just super picky and mark very hard. If they figure it isn't good enough for a first or second they will not award them. Some judges have personal biases against colours or patterns and will down grade them. That is not supposed to happen but it does.
My advice is, enter again in a different venue with a different judge.