Your photo is really good, but I really love the B & W interpretation.

I know how you feel, and I sympathize with you. I entered a contest sponsored by LI Newsday a couple of years ago and a similar thing happened. The winner was determined by email votes from the readership. So, if you've got a large family, and a lot of friends who have nothing to do but sit and email a vote, you're a definite winner. I'm not saying my photo was the best, but the winner was really bad.
On the positive side, 3 of my pictures were picked for my town's Civic Association calendar last year, and I've got 7 in this year. I guess I'm not that bad a photographer.
Keep plugging away at the legitimate contests. Anyone who appreciates good photography knows who the real winners were.

Your photo entry is a WINNER!!! It's beautiful.

Just remember, the 'cheater' will have to answer on 'judgment day.'

Opinion: Judging should be done by a minimum of three people with NO entrants present. Case in point: A gal pal won "Best of Division" at the State Fair (5 judges). The following year she entered the same image at the County Fair and didn't even get so much as an Honorable Mention (1 local judge). Judging is so subjective and you never know what the judges are looking for. Another issue: State Fair rules SPECIFICALLY state "NO PHOTOSHOP" images (other than cropping and clean-up) are allowed. When I went to view the results there was a 2nd place ribbon on an image that was b/w with selective color. Pretty obvious what had been done. So...when I went to collect my photos, I mentioned it to the person who had been chosen as the 'administrator' for the open entries in 2012. She was very much aware of the issue and said she would be policing the judging very carefully this year. Ahhhhh...we'll see if "the squeaky wheel gets the oil".

Despite the fact that you didn't win the $$$, you're still a winner to all your Hedgehog buddies. Don't be soured by one bad incident. Keep at it JW!!!