One of the many reasons I don't show. Seriously, exhibitors need to let the judges know what standard is?! Unbelievable.Matt,
The Black Copper Marans has been approved for two years now, but is not in the APA standards book yet. The next edition will likely be out in 2015, so many of the judges don't have a copy of the Marans breed standard and haven't judged very many of them. The judges will have a learning curve to learn the breed just like everyone else. It is the breeders responsibility to let the judges know what the breed should be.
I had a similar thing happen when a Crested Cream Legbar Pullet was disqualified for being crested. The judge told me afterwords that single combed breeds can't have a crest.
Just keep showing and let the judge know what the standard is. When judges know about mistakes they have made they will make sure it doesn't happen again.